Proctor man, trooper involved in wild shootout
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John Walters, 51, of Proctor was shot multiple times by a Vermont State Police sergeant in a gunfight Wednesday night. |
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By Gordon Dritschilo Rutland Herald - Published: November 21, 2008
A Proctor man is hospitalized and facing a charge of attempted murder after what police described as a "very violent gunbattle" with a police officer.
Vermont State Police said Thursday that Sgt. Thomas Mozzer shot John M. Walters, 51, several times in an exchange of gunfire Wednesday night in which police said the two fired an estimated total of 20 shots. It was Vermont's second officer-involved shooting in a week.
Police said Mozzer was not hurt, and that Walters was taken first to Rutland Regional Medical Center and then to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., where his condition was serious but stable.
Rutland District Court Judge Thomas Zonay issued a warrant for Walters' arrest on a charge of attempted second-degree murder. The charge carries a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life without parole.
The gunbattle took place at Walters' River Street home in Proctor. Police said they sent an officer to the home around 9:30 p.m. after his wife, Grace Walters, became concerned about his mental state and was worried he might ride off on his motorcycle after drinking and taking prescription medication.
Police said Mozzer entered the house not knowing Walters had a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. As the situation unfolded, Col. James Baker, State Police director, said Mozzer tried to call for backup, but his portable radio could not contact the dispatch center.
"You don't have cell service everywhere in Vermont and portable radios are not much different," Baker said, adding that it is not uncommon for police radios not to have coverage inside a house.
Mozzer hit Walters multiple times in the ensuing shootout, leaving the man wounded in his chest, hand and legs, according to police. Baker said it was too early to tell the exact number of shots either man fired or whether any stray rounds hit adjacent houses.
Baker said a 7-year-old child, a member of the family, was in the house at the time and removed by police after the incident.
Investigators swarmed the area following the shooting.
"I couldn't get inside my driveway when I came home," said Megan Cannucci, who lives around the corner on Grove Street. Police still had the Reynolds Street end of River Street blocked off Thursday morning.
Cannucci's husband, Brian Cannucci, said he was outside walking his dog during the incident. He said he heard John and Grace Walters arguing, and her threatening to call the police if he tried to go off on his motorcycle, before the two went back into their house.
Brian Cannucci said he was still outside when Mozzer arrived a few minutes later.
"I heard a lot of what I thought was the bike backfiring," Cannucci said. "It wasn't."
Cannucci said he returned home and had to get his 10-month-old son back to sleep.
Megan Cannucci said police had been at the house responding to domestic disputes more than once since her family moved into the neighborhood in June, and that on at least one occasion she had been able to hear them yelling at each other from her house.
Baker said he was not aware of any history of trouble at the Walters house, and said that if he was he would not comment on it out of respect to the family. He declined to comment on Walters' mental health for the same reason.
A record check at Rutland District Court did not reveal any previous charges against Walters.
Neighbors interviewed Thursday morning described the Walters family as generally keeping to themselves.
As a member of Calvary Bible Church, John Walters, a pharmacist, led a group of missionaries to Ghana in 2005, where they worked with a team of doctors to treat people in two remote villages. He contracted a serious case of malaria during that trip, but recovered and returned to describe helping get life-saving treatment to people in crippling poverty.
Detective Sgt. Timothy Pace from the State Police barracks in Bradford is leading the investigation. Police officials said bringing in an investigator from outside the officer's unit is standard practice for officer-involved shootings.
Pace wrote in an affidavit filed with Rutland District Court that Mozzer's account of events matched with both physical evidence at the scene and with recordings made during the encounter by Mozzer's body microphone.
Pace wrote that the audio recording shows Mozzer repeatedly trying to defuse the situation, telling Walters to put down his weapon.
Baker said there were now two separate investigations into the incident, with the Rutland County State's Attorney's Office handling the charge against Walters and the Vermont Attorney General's Office overseeing the investigation into Mozzer's use of deadly force. The Rutland County State's Attorney's Office will review the results of the latter investigation as well.
Baker said Mozzer had been placed on administrative leave, also standard procedure, and that he could not comment further on "personnel matters."
Baker said he did not think he would classify the incident as an attempt at "suicide by cop," but said the he was concerned about the "sense of urgency" he sees in society today.
"Clearly, there are issues here," he said. "The way this happened is very concerning to us."
Contact Gordon Dritschilo at gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com.