Editor’s note: This article is by Miranda Orso, of the Waterbury Record, in which it was first published Aug. 21, 2014.
A distraught Duxbury man, who fired three shots at police during a six-hour standoff at his home on Monday, died later of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Paul Sweetser, 58, was threatening to harm himself inside his yellow mobile home at 66 Clyde Ave., a dead-end, private drive just off Morse Road, family members told Vermont State Police Monday at 4:47 p.m.
State police Sgt. Ray Leblanc went to Sweetser’s house; a roommate let him in, saying Sweetser was shut inside a bedroom and was armed with a handgun, according to information provided by Lt. Tom Hango.
Leblanc spoke briefly to Sweetser from outside the room, Hango said, but then Sweetser fired a shot through the wall. Leblanc got out of the house quickly, taking the roommate with him.
Shortly after that, Sweetser fired two more shots, taking aim through a window at another state trooper who was just arriving at the house.
When that happened, “troopers took positions of cover, requested additional assistance, and set up a perimeter” to ensure the situation did not escalate, according to one in a series of updates that state police provided Monday night and Tuesday.
Soon, police took over the remote, private road, which has only a few homes on it. The state police tactical support unit moved in, a mobile command center was set up, armored vehicles arrived in case they were needed, and police arranged for a helicopter to hover overhead.
Hango said 40 to 50 officers were eventually at the house, plus members of the state police crisis negotiation unit and mental health officials.
The negotiators established contact with Sweetser, who never came out of the house; the talks stretched well into the evening. Standing by during the walks were officers wearing bulletproof vests and carrying shotguns and assault rifles.
However, police never fired a shot.
The few neighbors on Clyde Avenue were evacuated as a safety precaution, said Capt. Paul White, the state police commander in northwestern Vermont. White arrived as the residents were being escorted from their homes.
The neighbors were told they could take shelter at the Duxbury town offices, but Town Clerk Ken Scott said that, while the building was open, no residents showed up.
White said Sweetser, who was estranged from wife Deb Sweetser, was alone in his home during the negotiations. Earlier, before the standoff, other people had been at home with him, including the roommate.
Eventually, Sweetser stopped talking with negotiators. At about 11:15 p.m., police sent a camera-equipped robot into the house, and found that Sweetser had shot himself with a handgun, and was dead.
White said that, no matter how much training officers have for situations like this, “every situation is slightly unique and it’s impossible to be prepared for every possible situation. It’s not uncommon that we respond to these types of calls and, between training and previous experience, we’re certainly ready. It’s not a common call, but it’s not an uncommon circumstance for us to respond to.”
Sweetser’s body was taken to the Vermont Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Burlington for an autopsy to pinpoint the official cause of death.
White said detectives are now handling the case; it’s considered an open investigation into a death, with suicide the apparent cause of death.
Investigators will speak with Sweetser’s relatives and neighbors to determine what factors, if any, may have led him to take his own life.
White said investigators will also go through the house thoroughly, looking for any signs of foul play.
“You have to assume the worst until you can prove otherwise, not just for the protection of the victim but for the protection of everyone involved,” he said.
