[B]URLINGTON — The death of a Burlington man following an encounter with a city police officer has been ruled a homicide.
Douglas Kilburn, 54, was found dead days after a March 11 altercation with officer Cory Campbell.
Police say Campbell was responding to a call of a disorderly male at the University of Vermont Medical Center when Kilburn punched him in the face. Campbell then punched Kilburn and subdued him, police say.
Vermont State Police, which has been investigating Kilburn’s death, announced Wednesday that the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office had ruled the death a homicide.
The official cause of death was “undetermined terminal mechanism due to multiple underlying conditions.” One of these conditions was a skull fracture suffered March 11 after being struck by another person. Other conditions include hypertension, cardiac and cerebral vascular disease, obesity and diabetes.
Kilburn was treated at the hospital for his injuries and discharged March 12. He was cited for disorderly conduct, assault on a law enforcement officer and trespassing. Kilburn was found dead at his home on March 14.
The Vermont State Police said the department was continuing to investigate Kilburn’s death, including the use of force by Campbell. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office will conduct an independent review of the VSP investigation when it concludes.
Police Chief Brandon del Pozo stressed the distinction between the medical ruling of homicide and the legal finding of homicide during a Wednesday press conference.
“It is possible to rule something a homicide in a death certificate without even knowing precisely how the person died,” he said. “That’s a different matter than beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal proceeding.”
The Department of Health pushed back against del Pozo claim in a press release that the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office was “unable to determine cause of Mr. Douglas Kilburn’s death.”
“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner could not determine the mechanism of Mr. Kilburn’s death,” Ben Truman, a spokesman for the Department of Health, said via email, “but did determine that the causes of death were a combination of the underlying medical conditions, which are reflected in the death certificate.”
Del Pozo said Campbell punched Kilburn, brought him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs after Kilburn attacked the officer. Kilburn was treated for “small, non-displaced fractures to his skull” caused by Campbell’s punches, del Pozo said.
Dan Gilligan, president of the Burlington Police Officers Association, blamed Kilburn for his own death in a statement Wednesday. He said Campbell did not do anything wrong, and only used the force necessary to defend himself and control the situation.
Gilligan called Kilburn’s death “a sad but unfortunate consequence of Kilburn’s own conduct,” adding that the medical examiner’s report “does not mean (that) Officer Campbell did anything wrong.”
“It only means that Dr. Shapiro believes Kilburn died as a result of his contact with Campbell, not that Campbell acted inappropriately,” the statement said.
While the BPD has Campbell’s body camera footage of his interactions with Kilburn, del Pozo said that the department had given it to VSP and would not release it to the wider public before Attorney General T.J. Donovan’s office reaches a conclusion in the case.
Del Pozo said the department would not comment on whether the use and level of force was appropriate before the attorney general’s findings. He said the department will also conduct an internal investigation after Donovan issues his findings.
Del Pozo also said that he would not describe the body camera footage in more detail.
“I think describing the body cam footage in greater detail is akin to releasing the body cam footage, which the state police have asked us unequivocally not to do,” del Pozo said.
Campbell is currently assigned to non-enforcement duties at police headquarters, del Pozo said
in a press release Wednesday.
Jannine Wright, the BPD’s deputy chief of administration, said Campbell was working with the records department to fulfill media requests and enter data, as well as assisting the department’s instructors on yearly training and doing chores around the department.
In March, del Pozo said Campbell had no disciplinary history and had an unblemished record of service.
The Burlington Police Officers’ Association’s statement shed some additional light into Campbell’s interaction with Kilburn.
The union said that Kilburn was “irate” and disrupting patient care in the emergency room when Campbell responded.
“Officer Campbell arrived on scene and managed to de-escalate a tense situation,” according to the union’s statement. “Officer Campbell calmed Kilburn and persuaded Medical Center staff to allow the Kilburn to visit his wife, who was a patient.”
Campbell interacted with Kilburn again later, as Kilburn was blocking emergency traffic to the ambulance bay and refusing to leave. Kilburn, who was 6’1” and 310 pounds, then “attacked” the 5’9” 160 pound Campbell, the union said.
Gilligan said that Campbell reacted the way he was trained when Kilburn assaulted him.
“While the fact that Mr. Kilburn died several days later of causes that may or — may not be — related to these punches is tragic, it is not Officer Campbell’s fault,” Gilligan said. “Campbell acted reasonably and in proportion to the violence that he faced.”
UVM Medical Center issued a statement Wednesday saying the hospital was assisting with the Vermont State Police and was unable to comment further.
Jon Murad, BPD deputy chief of operations, said that the department talked to witnesses who spoke to Kilburn the evening of March 13, meaning that Kilburn died between then and when he was found dead March 14 as police responded to a wellness check call.
Murad said he could not share any more information about who placed the wellness check call and why they were concerned.
It’s unclear how many times Campbell punched Kilburn during the altercation. Del Pozo said Campbell punched Kilburn “a few” times but that the body camera footage didn’t clearly show Campbell’s hands and that he would defer to the state police’s investigation.
The department also acquired surveillance footage from the hospital and handed it over to the state police, del Pozo said.
The police chief said he was not making a judgment on the use of force in this case, but added that generally speaking, officers are allowed to use the level of force necessary to defend themselves or others.
“It’s not unheard of to need to defend yourself by striking someone in the head,” del Pozo said.
