I received a video from the standoff on Evergreen Avenue that raised certain questions.
Thankfully, the Vermont State Police quickly answered them.
In the video, a trooper clad in tactical gear appeared to be loading a weapon that he then fired into the house.
“TSU members were prepping a gas canister on one side (of) the house but never fired it,” VSP spokesman Adam Silverman wrote in an email in response to an inquiry. “At roughly the same time, TSU deployed a flash-bang device at the rear of the house. At that point, police heard an apparent gunshot from inside. TSU then used an impact munition to break a window to provide immediate access for a drone to determine if the suspect was injured so that troopers could render aid.”
An “impact munition,” Silverman said, is a less-than-lethal round like a baton or a bean bag.
I also asked why the bomb squad was deployed. Silverman said that they are called in whenever the tactical services unit is.
Both the TSU and the bomb squad are made up of troopers who serve in those functions on top of their regular State Police duties.
Dead ends
I spent a chunk of this week trying to untangle certain aspects of the recreation department situation.
A recap, the short-short version: Last week, the Board of Aldermen voted to reinstate a department head over the mayor’s announced intention to replace her. Then the city attorney said the vote was invalid. The board president said he disagreed and the mayor said he was listening to the city attorney, and there have been suggestions of the whole thing winding up in court.
After 25 years of sitting through public meetings and listening to arguments about Robert’s Rules of Order, I have certain ideas about who has the authority to make a ruling on a vote’s validity and who would have standing to challenge it in court, but I’m still just a journalism major and not an actual legal expert.
An actual legal expert proved harder to find than I thought.
My first call was to the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, where they told me they didn’t know and suggested I call the Secretary of State’s office. The folks at the Secretary of State’s office listened to the situation and said they weren’t going to comment lest they need to get involved in an official capacity.
Harassing various Vermont Law & Graduate School faculty eventually led me, through a series of referrals, to a gentleman with what seemed like impeccable credential in municipal law. He looked through the city charter and then asked me not to quote him because he wasn’t sure, either.
So, all I can say for certain right now is that City Attorney Megan LaChance, who was reaching the end of her last day on the job when I called her Friday afternoon, told me she was not aware of anything having been filed by anyone in court regarding the issue.
Calendar
The Charter and Ordinance Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. to discuss feeding pigeons and other wild animals in public spaces, as well as modifying the fire alarm ordinance.
Wednesday, the Development Review Board meets to look at a proposed rooming house on 77 N. Main St., which is listed in the agenda as a “Use Not Anticipated” in the Gateway Business District II.
gordon.dritschilo
@rutlandherald.com