[T]he head of the Vermont State Police tactical team and one its members have been taken off the special unit, according to State Police Col. Matthew Birmingham.
State Police Lt. Hugh O’Donnell, who led the tactical services unit, and Trooper Christopher Brown, a member of the team, are both now off the team, according to Birmingham, the director of the Vermont State Police.
Birmingham said since it was considered a personnel matter, he could not provide further comment on the departures from tactical services unit.
The tactical services unit is a special team and it is not considered a full-time assignment.
The departure of O’Donnell and Brown from the tactical team follows the fatal shooting last month involving the special Vermont State Police unit.
Nathan Giffin, 32, of Essex, was shot and killed in a field on the grounds of Montpelier High School on Jan. 16 where police said he had fled after robbing the nearby Vermont State Employees Credit Union.
Giffin was shot following a standoff lasting 50 minutes. Nine officers fired shots, including eight members of the Vermont State Police and a corporal with the Montpelier Police Department.
Police said Giffin issued threats and made suicidal statements, and he displayed a handgun. The weapon was later identified as a BB gun.
The investigation into Giffin’s shooting is continuing, and will be reviewed by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office as well as the Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Brown was one of the troopers who fired a shot in the Montpelier shooting. He also was one of five troopers who fired shots in another shooting involving the tactical team last September in Poultney that left Michael Battles, who was also wielding a BB gun, dead.
Brown, and the other officers involved in that shooting in Poultney, were later cleared of any wrongdoing after an investigation by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Rutland County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Vermont State Police Capt. John Merrigan is now the commander of the state police tactical services unit, according to Birmingham.
