Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo plans to be back on duty full-time on August 20 — nine weeks after a bicycle crash sent him to the intensive care unit at the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Del Pozo said the last thing he remembers on June 16 is coasting down the gradual, 4.5-mile hill on Route 73 in Keene Valley, N.Y., when the used bike he had recently bought started shaking uncontrollably.
He crashed, fracturing three bones in his skull, four ribs, two bones in his shoulder and his collarbone, he said. He was flown by helicopter to Burlington, and spent two days in intensive care and a third day in the hospital before being released.
The bones are on the mend, and del Pozo is still recovering from a concussion.
“All indications are that cognitively, I’m lucky to be exactly the same as I was,” he said. For the time being, he added, “I don’t know if I’ll be doing foot pursuits or subduing anyone.”
When he crashed, del Pozo had been training for an Ironman half triathlon — a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1-mile run. That’s off the table.
“The prognosis about ski season is optimistic,” he said.
Del Pozo has already started working part-time. He reviewed the plans to police the University of Vermont Medical Center nurses strike in July — “from my couch, in a dim room,” he clarified, as if to appease his doctors. He has also been vetting candidates to replace former deputy chief Shawn Burke, who was hired as chief of the South Burlington Police Department.
The department’s deputy chief of administration, Jan Wright, is filling in as acting chief during del Pozo’s absence.
Related Stories
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
Where and from whom did he get that bike? Sounds like there is some liability if not the makings of a lawsuit.
Speculation when the accident occurred was that one of the wheel’s quick releases was loose and that a wheel broke free as the chief careened out of control down a hill before crashing and almost dying.
The chief prides himself on finding excuses for teachable moments – and this is a great opportunity for his doing so, vs. just talking pure nonsense about whether he can ski this winter or not once healed from his severe injuries.
The top law-enforcement officer in Vermont’s largest city can use the interviews he is now giving to tell bikers he missed a chance to do a “pre-trip,” and that others should and can learn from his oversight.
Us bikers rarely if ever inspect our bikes before we head out for a spin. Checking to make sure the tires have air is not a pre-trip.
If the police chief had done a real pre-trip, he could have avoided an accident that from all accounts nearly cost him his life.
He can and should convey that message the next time he gives one of these otherwise-throwaway, puff-piece interviews.
Then he will have accomplished a public service, vs. spewing a mouthful of self-aggrandizing sputum that includes cracking lame, alleged jokes about how he may not ski or chase down thugs as well as he used to.
And the reporters doing these interviews will have also accomplished something worthwhile – beyond filling space with a bunch of forgettable quotes about skiing this winter and chasing runaway suspects.
Theres a solution. Lets not take personal responsibility…. gotta be someone to sue.