Man Killed In Thermopolis Officer-Involved Shooting ID’d, 2 Officers On Leave

A 41-year-old Thermopolis man was killed in an officer- and deputy-involved shooting in town Monday evening, while a police officer and sheriff’s office deputy have been placed on paid leave, the town has confirmed.

Jared Gottula, 41, lived in the area of Clark and Third streets and became the subject of a police welfare check Monday evening when a neighbor saw him thrashing his home and surroundings with a baseball bat while yelling and screaming, the neighbor told Cowboy State Daily at the scene.

A joint statement dispatched Tuesday morning by the town of Thermopolis and the Hot Springs County Sheriff’s Office says a Thermopolis Police Department (TPD) officer was called to the scene at about 5:25 p.m. for the welfare check.

Gottula confronted the officer with a metal baseball bat and struck the officer’s patrol car with it, says the statement.

A witness on scene who declined to be identified publicly told Cowboy State Daily that the man with the baseball bat, now known as Gottula, kept trying to get into the officer’s car and twice managed to get the door open. The witness also said the officer hit the man with his car during the scuffle.

A Hot Springs County Sheriff’s deputy then arrived as backup, and a struggle followed.

One neighbor heard the grunting sounds of a possible wrestling match.

At some point during the struggle, “lethal force was deployed,” says the joint statement, adding that Gottula was pronounced dead on scene.

Neighbors heard anywhere from six to 12 gunshots, depending on their location, according to multiple interviews Cowboy State Daily conducted on scene.

There was no information in Tuesday’s statement confirming how many shots were fired during the altercation or from whom.

Both the officer and the deputy were not hurt, the joint statement says. They’re now on paid administrative leave during an investigation into the incident by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.

Church School Nearby

For the recent years in which Kerry Wilson knew Gottula — whom she didn’t identify by name — as her backyard-abutting neighbor, his behavior has been worrisome, indicating mental issues, Wilson told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.

He would get into fights with his father that prompted neighbor intervention, yell and scream, and have other outbursts, she said.

Wilson always told her daughters to keep their bedroom windows covered.

On Monday evening, she said she didn’t want one of her daughters to play outside and watch what looked like a mental outburst as the neighbor man screamed, yelled and hit his house with a baseball bat; and thrashed the bat around over his head and beside his body.

Wilson called in the welfare check out of concern for Gottula’s dad, a nearby Christian day care, her own family and the other neighbors, she said.

Father Of Three

Gottula lived in Laramie prior to Thermopolis at least as late as 2021, his court file indicates. It’s a thin court file, showing three state criminal citations: one for speeding in 2002, one for running a stop sign in 2007, and one for failing to wear fluorescent clothing while hunting in 2021.

One civil filing says Gottula is a father of three.

The file describes him as standing 6 feet, 2 inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Gottula’s sister, who was outspoken about his death Monday night on social media, did not immediately return a Cowboy State Daily voicemail and message requesting comment.

Contact Clair McFarland at clair@cowboystatedaily.com

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.