Latest update to Storify: 11/12, 8:40 p.m.
Update, 11/11, 2:26 p.m.: In a briefing this morning, police identified the deceased as Joshua Pfenning, 35, a transient in the Burlington area. Police say Pfenning had consumed a “large quantity of alcohol,” and that he pointed the gun at and threatened another person in the tent before the shooting. Police have contacted one witness who was in the tent at the time the shooting occurred and are looking for another, although they did not release the missing witness’s name. The handgun used in the incident was apparently stolen from a home in Derby in 2009.
Responding to rumors that the victim was a military veteran, Deputy Chief Andi Higbee said that Pfenning was in the Army at one point, but was discharged after two weeks in boot camp.
Police Chief Michael Schirling says the city is now trying to balance public safety and its own investigation with the rights of Occupy Burlington protesters to assemble. The southern half of City Hall Park, where the Occupy camp is, will remain cordoned off indefinitely while the investigation continues The northern half remains open for all and Occupiers are welcome to continue demonstrations there during the hours the park is open. Police will no longer permit tents in the park, though.
According to court records, Pfenning has a criminal record dating back to 1999. He received a suspended jail sentence and probation following a drunk driving arrest in Orleans County in 2006. In September 2009, he pleaded guilty to DUI and operating with a suspended license in Chittenden County, and paid a fine. He pleaded guilty to DUI #2 and operating with a suspended license in Caledonia County in October 2010. He received a suspended jail sentence and was ordered to complete 40 hours of community service, and attend alcohol screening, counseling and treatment. He was on probation through October 23, 2012.
Court records also indicate he was born in Middlebury, and that his birthday was Nov. 6 — four days before his apparent suicide.
Andy Bromage contributed to this report. Click here to download the full text of Police Chief Michael Schirling’s statement on the investigation and the future of Occupy Burlington.
Original post: Yesterday evening, police cleared City Hall Park to investigate the shooting death of a man who allegedly shot himself at the Occupy Burlington encampment. Occupiers, Burlington police and Mayor Bob Kiss met in the park and later inside City Hall to discuss how to proceed. The situation became tense after police detained a protester and displayed tear gas guns and other larger weapons. Kiss successfully negotiated the release of the protester, and a pastor from the Unitarian Universalist church invited Occupiers to spend the night there instead.
All night long, police kept the southern half of City Hall Park cordoned off. The northern half of the park remained open, and some Occupiers remained there to keep an eye on the camp. They also held a candlelight vigil after midnight in memory of “Josh” at the northern edge of the City Hall Park fountain.
The southern half of the park, including the Occupy camp, remains cordoned off this morning. Four police cars are stationed at the corners of the scene. This morning the park was largely devoid of Occupiers, but area homeless and other local residents were there, keeping watch.
What follows is a Storify post chronicling the day’s events through Tweets, photos and video from local media outlets and community members. The post will be updated as more news comes in. I’m headed off to a Burlington Police briefing at 11:30 a.m., from which I’ll post updates on our Twitter account.
(If you’re having trouble seeing the embedded version of the Storify post below, click here to view it on Storify.com.)
View the story “Shooting at Occupy Burlington Camp” on Storify]
This article appears in Nov 9-15, 2011.
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Oh wait, the murderer is on the loose and police tell the public there is no concern for harm and no changes are being made.ANYONE SEE ANY HYPOCRISY HERE?
Oh wait, the murderer is on the loose and police tell the public there is no concern for harm and no changes are being made.
ANYONE SEE ANY HYPOCRISY HERE?
So apparently there was a murder in Bethel, VT the other day. I wonder if Bethel police will shut down the entire town, keep people off the streets and sidewalks and parks, and prevent people from practicing their first amendment because of “public safety.”
So apparently there was a murder in Bethel, VT the other day. I wonder if Bethel police will shut down the entire town, keep people off the streets and sidewalks and parks, and prevent people from practicing their first amendment because of "public safety."
Sarah, In this case the drinking and drugging– not to mention fatal shooting — occurred in at least one Occupy tent. Can you tell me the last time there was a fatal shooting in City Hall Park?
the drinking and drugging has been in issue in the park for years! only now is it being brought to attention! we all know this lets not be blind or ignorant and blame it on the protesters.
funny how josh is described as a transient. besides the last week that he was alive he got to work at 5 in the morning every morning (except for the last week he was alive) at labor ready and worked his ass off all day for 30-40 bucks. the …site is not a crime scene, the police took the tent he shot himself in, there is no more evidence to take, they are using this as an excuse to try to shut down the camping. his death is being politicized and this is wrong. it had nothing to do with occupy burlington, he had problems way before the protest, if it didnt happen there it would have happened somewhere else.
@ Josh:First, I didn’t say you dismissed Josh Pfenning’s suicide. That would be the comment by David C. But I do think that you have absolutely no sense of perspective if you’re complaining that the Occupiers should be allowed to continue (not start, but continue) violating city ordinances despite a shooting fatality within your group. You’re upset that the city is shutting down your already-illegal encampment after there was a shooting death in one of the tents? Gee. And that shocking incident comes on the heels of reports of two weeks of chronic illegal behavior in our park: chronic public consumption of alcohol, drugs, loud noise 24 hours, foul language, and defacation.And I’d like to know which one of you good citizens did your civic duty — not to mention your moral duty to Mr. Pfenning — to report to authorities that he was drinking all day long and had a gun. I have read that people knew he was drinking all day long, and that people knew he had a gun. But I haven’t read that anyone made any attempt to intervene or to alert any authorities. Not only was he a danger to himself, but he could have killed other people. Yet apparently no one did or said a thing before the incident? Perhaps if just one of you had spoken up, he’d be alive. But nevermind that. Just keep complaining that your group is being treated unfairly.Lastly, you say, “I have lost a great deal of respect for the leadership of the City of Burlington.” I lost that respect much earlier: when they decided it was okay for a left-wing political group to break laws that they surely would have enforced against a conservative group.
@Murphy: I haven’t seen anyone “dismiss” this tragic loss of life. There were maybe 100 folks at the vigil for Josh that I attended on Friday and people were very upset.I am course not shrugging off suicide. I used to work with developmentally disabled people and have talked at least 2 people out of suicide. What I am saying is the City is using this unfortunate incident to shoehorn the Occupation out of the park.How often do accidents or unfortunate things happen in life? It’s inevitable that something unpleasant will happen among the millions of people involved in this movement, it’s just a numbers thing. It is dishonest for cities to claim that one thing going wrong–one suicide happens every 15 minutes in the U.S.–means the entire assembly needs to stop for everyone else. That is manipulating tragedy and is true disrespect for the life that was lost.Hell, Occupy Burlington might decide to leave on its own accord, and if so, I’ll shut up. But if the orders remain after the crime scene is cleared, I’m afraid my opinion is not altered. I have lost a great deal of respect for the leadership of the City of Burlington.Of course everyone has a viewpoint. But a minority of people who disagree politically from the start shouldn’t be able to stop others’ expression of free speech. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear.I enjoy dialogue with those who disagree, but two things that make me lose respect for debaters and unwilling to continue dialogue with them: 1) Putting words (and thoughts) in my mouth (or mind) 2) Personal attacks.My suggestion is to write comments as if you were speaking to me in person. Would you speak like that to me in person? I’m always willing to discuss matters in person.
@Murphy: I haven't seen anyone "dismiss" this tragic loss of life. There were maybe 100 folks at the vigil for Josh that I attended on Friday and people were very upset.
I am course not shrugging off suicide. I used to work with developmentally disabled people and have talked at least 2 people out of suicide. What I am saying is the City is using this unfortunate incident to shoehorn the Occupation out of the park.
How often do accidents or unfortunate things happen in life? It's inevitable that something unpleasant will happen among the millions of people involved in this movement, it's just a numbers thing. It is dishonest for cities to claim that one thing going wrong–one suicide happens every 15 minutes in the U.S.–means the entire assembly needs to stop for everyone else. That is manipulating tragedy and is true disrespect for the life that was lost.
Hell, Occupy Burlington might decide to leave on its own accord, and if so, I'll shut up. But if the orders remain after the crime scene is cleared, I'm afraid my opinion is not altered. I have lost a great deal of respect for the leadership of the City of Burlington.
Of course everyone has a viewpoint. But a minority of people who disagree politically from the start shouldn't be able to stop others' expression of free speech. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.
I enjoy dialogue with those who disagree, but two things that make me lose respect for debaters and unwilling to continue dialogue with them: 1) Putting words (and thoughts) in my mouth (or mind) 2) Personal attacks.
My suggestion is to write comments as if you were speaking to me in person. Would you speak like that to me in person? I'm always willing to discuss matters in person.