Award to Police
Was Insensitive

I was astounded the other day to learn that the Vermont Department of Public Safety had given awards to the State Police troopers who shot the mentally ill Mr. Joseph Fortunati in Corinth.

The work we hire these women and men to do is always potentially dangerous, and we owe them a debt of gratitude that we seldom give. However, giving awards for that operation seems to me to be highly inappropriate and insensitive.

While I do not fault the troopers on the scene that day, I do have serious questions about the commanding officer who planned the operation. Why was Mr. Fortunati's mental health counselor not brought to the scene to try to talk to him? Why were the troopers dressed in military camouflage, which would be bound to increase the defensiveness of a paranoid person? In my opinion the whole situation was handled badly and with terrible insensitivity.

Now insult has been added to injury by giving awards for such behavior. Please, let us get away from the SWAT team mentality that has come to dominate our approach to police work.

Perhaps an award, or at least a sincere apology, should be given by Gov. Douglas to the Fortunati family for the suffering inflicted on them.

Allen Hood

South Royalton