Updated at 10:16 p.m.
Two state troopers are expected to face charges stemming from an incident last June that seriously injured a 61-year-old Newfane man.
That’s according to the Vermont Troopers’ Association, which issued a press release late Thursday afternoon criticizing Attorney General Charity Clark for her apparent plan to bring charges in the case.
Two state troopers had been on paid leave as authorities investigated the incident, which took place early in the morning of June 17, 2022. According to the Vermont State Police, Sgt. Ryan Wood and Trooper Zachary Trocki of the Westminster barracks responded to a resident calling about a guest acting irrationally and causing damage to his house at 521 Vermont Route 30.
When the troopers arrived, they found the man on the roof of the house and tried to de-escalate the situation but were unsuccessful, police said shortly after the incident. Eventually, Trocki fired a bean-bag type projectile that hit the man, who then fell about 15 feet to the ground, police said.
Marshall Dean of Newfane was taken by ambulance to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and was later transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
In its press release Thursday, the troopers association said that the Attorney General’s Office had determined that the firing of the bean bag round was not justified and directed state police to cite Wood and Trocki for simple assault and reckless endangerment.
The troopers’ lawyers, David Sleigh and Robert Sussman, also signed on to the statement.
They and the troopers’ association said they believed the matter should have been handled through the Vermont State Police’s internal affairs process.
“While an internal affairs investigation may result in a finding of a violation of policy and potential discipline, we do not believe this case rises to the level of criminal conduct,” the release stated. “We believe this is setting a dangerous precedent for Law Enforcement officers throughout Vermont.”
The Attorney General’s Office issued the following statement Thursday: “Prosecutors are subject to particular rules of professional responsibility that prevent us from commenting at this time.”
No court date was available for when the two troopers are set to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charges.
Corrections: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misstated the year in which the bean bag firing incident took place. Also, an earlier version of this story misidentified the two state troopers in the caption of the photo.