A Burlington police officer fatally shot a 49-year-old man in the New North End yesterday evening after his mother called police to report that he had been acting irrationally, authorities said.
Wayne Brunette, a longtime Burlington resident, was killed two minutes after two police officers arrived at the home he shared with his parents on Randy Lane, in a quiet neighborhood tucked behind the Lyman Hunt Middle School, police said.
Brunette approached the officers in a “threatening manner,” while holding a “long-handled pointed spade shovel,” Vermont State Police Major Glenn Hall said at a late morning press conference inside the Burlington police station.
Corporal Ethan Thibault, a 12-year-veteran, fired his .40 caliber Glock, killing Brunette. It was the first time Burlington police have fired their weapons at someone since 1997.
Corporal Brent Navari, a 10-year-veteran, did not fire. Neither officer was injured. Brunette was pronounced dead at the Fletcher Allen Health Care emergency department.
Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling (pictured) said that, while the investigation is in its infancy, authorities currently believe Thibault followed the applicable rules and laws in firing at Brunette.
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A shovel, wielded by an adult male is more than capable of delivering a fatal blow to the neck or head. My sympathies to all the people touched by this tragedy, including the officers.
Tim, I fully agree. Not only could you harm someone with a shovel just by blunt force, most shovels have very sharp edges and could easily slice through skin and bone. This is a tragedy all around and hopefully people do not rush to judgment regarding the actions of either the police or the victim. Let the investigations run their course.
Sorry Tim (and Mr. Hannity), but so is a pencil, or bare hands for that matter. Shooting someone with a shovel is a gross overreaction at the very least. I’m not sure how two armed and trained officers acting reasonably couldn’t have responded more appropriately to this situation. Heck, even running away is a better reaction than killing someone.
One question asked of me today was why the officers were shooting to kill and not simply disable. My understanding is if an officer discharges their weapon it should be to kill, basically a last resort, no shooting to wing the suspect any shots fired are meant to kill and that is the policy. Any one with any facts on my opinion which I believe is the policy?
you mess with police, and they hold grudges until they can kill you…. thank God we have police officers like this to rid the world of the mentally ill.
This wasn’t a pencil or bare hands and it is clear you have never worked with your hands if you think a shovel isn’t a dangerous weapon.
Mr. Concerned Citizen: How about shooting someone with a baseball bat in their hands? That doesn’t seem like a dangerous weapon…
I’m the property manager of my family’s tree farm and ex-infantry actually (though not a combat veteran), so plenty of experience with the tools far deadlier than shovels. I’d prefer that our police not carry personally, but if they do I’d hope that pepper spray or tasers be used prior to drawing their weapons, especially when the aggressor’s “weapon” is a shovel. I’m no fanatic–I am a gun-owner myself–this just doesn’t seem sensible.
Papa, how about we just don’t shoot people? There are, of course, situations where it might be necessary–and maybe this even is one of those–but I really can’t imagine that other measures couldn’t have been taken first, like pepper spray, taser, etc. I’m reserving my judgement on this particular case for when more facts come to light, I just can’t understand how people can be so quick to justify this sort of action without more evidence. I think we NEED to be asking these hard questions, only then can we figure out if this was in any way justified. As I mentioned above, it’s hard to imagine a man with a shovel couldn’t have been dealt with more appropriately.
Do you seriously believe what you write? I’m confident that the officer who killed this man would have much preferred that it did not happen. The mentally ill do not want their illness any more than a diabetic does.
Based on your comment, I think it’s appropriate for to consider whether you have some mental health issues yourself.
This is a profoundly sad incident and will forever affect the lives of all involved. If the facts presented are accurate, it sounds like Mr. Brunette was acting violently and indeed, wielding a shovel is quite threatening. He had a history of mental illness.
In my mind, this is all the more reason for the police to proceed VERY CAREFULLY in the context of his mental illness. This means the police should do EVERYTHING possible to avoid lethal force and if possible, involve professionals better equipped to deescalate the situation. Unless officer Thibault was within a few feet of Mr. Brunette – which he should not have been – for the him to choose to use his pistol vs. taser, or other means, to subdue Mr. Brunette, seems unreasonable. Wait for backup. Use several officers with riot shields if need be.
There must be consequences for police who use excessive force. I, for one, lose trust in the police whenever I hear of excessive force or abuse of power.
And a few facts:
“Research has shown that the vast majority of people who are violent do not suffer from mental illnesses (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).â€
“. . . [T]he absolute risk of violence among the mentally ill as a group is still very small and . . . only a small proportion of the violence in our society can be attributed to persons who are mentally ill (Mulvey, 1994).â€
In a 1998 study that compared people discharged from acute psychiatric inpatient facilities and others in the same neighborhoods, researchers found that “there was no significant difference between the prevalence of violence by patients without symptoms of substance abuse and the prevalence of violence by others living in the same neighborhoods who were also without symptoms of substance abuse (Steadman, Mulvey, Monahan, Robbins, Applebaum, Grisso, Roth, and Silver, 1998).â€
References available here:
http://promoteacceptance.samhs…
Cops love tasers. Wouldn’t this have been a good time to use one?
Then by all means, go down to your Local PD and sign on up to do the job! Especially since you think that you can do a better job.
the investigation is on going
it would be premature to comment
on how many shots were fired
although that is easily where the inquiry would start
they shoot mentally ill people in the USA
that includes Burlington, Vermont
they shoot mentally ill people in the USA
procedures are in place
the police chief hides behind condescending words
diverting attention from the basic facts
there is no need to shoot someone armed with a shovel
on a calm neighborhood street
the powers know that outrage cannot be sustained
in a world speeding to who knows where
no laws were broken, they shift regularly anyway
hidden on the 10 o’clock news
TooRotten:
1) I didn’t say I could do a better job, I questioned whether shooting a man with a shovel was an appropriate response.
2) Even if I did think I could do a better job, that doesn’t mean that’s the job I should do. You ever go to a restaurant and think the chef overcooked something? That doesn’t mean that you should quit your job and replace the chef.
3) What the hell am I doing trying to have a rational conversation in a comment thread? I have no idea…
There was a VT Game Warden some years back that was beaten to death with a flashlight. Would that Warden have been justified in shooting the person that beat him with *gasp* a flashlight?
Cuffs
Batons
Pepper spray
Tasers
Nope.
Gotta go straight to the .40 S&W chambered Glock.
Maybe he was confused, when confronted with someone wielding a spade?
/double entendre
About what, exactly, are you concerned?
This just in.
Burlington City Council, along with a feisty group of outraged moms, is enacting a ban on shovels.
Hoes, will remain readily available, according to anonymous property management professionals.