(Host) A Pittsford man remains hospitalized after being shot by a Vermont state police officer yesterday. State troopers were responding to a domestic dispute when the shooting occurred just off Route 7 in Pittsford.
VPR’s Nina Keck reports.
(Keck) Rutland Regional Medical Center Spokesman Michael Dowdy says 33-year-old David Harvey suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and a second, superficial gunshot wound to the back. Harvey’s condition was upgraded this morning from critical to serious condition.
Two state police troopers responded to a 911 call Sunday morning concerning domestic violence at Harvey’s home just off Route 7 in Pittsford. By the time the troopers arrived, David Harvey had left the residence.
A short time later, police say Harvey pulled up on a nearby side road in a white pickup truck. When officers ordered Harvey out of the vehicle, he emerged carrying what police describe as a long barrel gun. Police told him to drop the weapon. Harvey refused, police say, turned the gun toward the troopers and was shot by Sergeant Thomas Jacques.
Vermont state police Captain James Baker says officers involved in shootings, like Sergeant Jacques, are typically assigned administrative leave while an investigation is undertaken.
(Baker) “It’s standard operating procedure that anytime there’s a shooting involving members of the [police] department, that we bring individuals from different parts of the state in to do the investigation. It certainly gives us a much better look at the circumstances and certainly gives the public some confidence that we’re being fair and impartial in our investigation.”
(Keck) Detective Lieutenant David Tetrault of the Rockingham State Police Barracks is leading the investigation. Tetrault says he’s hopeful it will take just a few more days of site work and interviewing, though he says the lab work will likely take longer.
Once completed, he says they’ll turn their information over to the Rutland state’s attorney. An investigation into the domestic assault also continues.
For Vermont Public Radio, I’m Nina Keck in Rutland.