The death of a 28-year-old Vermont State Police trooper earlier this month has prompted a review of training practices at the Department of Public Safety. And officials say they need to find out whether department protocols contributed to the heat stroke that claimed the life of Kyle Young.
It was an unseasonably warm 82 degrees on Sept. 17 when Young began the fitness test he hoped would earn him a spot on the Vermont State’s Police’s Tactical Services Unit. Dressed in a military-style uniform and outfitted with body armor, Young proceeded on a course that would involve lunges, push ups, tractor tire flips, running, and a series of other grueling physical tasks.
By the time he got to the sand-hill climb, Young was already running 10 minutes ahead of the four previous troopers trying out for the special team.
“He was crawling up the sand hill, which is not an unusual tack to be taken, and that’s when he started experiencing the issues,” says Commissioner of Public Safety Keith Flynn.
Flynn says that’s the moment when Young’s superiors realized something was wrong. Young stopped breathing soon after, and was pronounced dead at UVM Medical Center later that afternoon. The cause of death, according to doctors, was a condition known as exertional heat stroke.
This week, Flynn announced a department-wide review of training policies.
“This is something that is essential for the state police and Department of Public Safety to take a deep dive into. We really need answers to the questions: How? Why? And where from here?” Flynn says.
Flynn says the state has enlisted independent medical experts, including Dr. Denise Elliot of the UVM Medical Center, to review what happened.
The family of Vermont State Police Trooper Kyle Young laid their fallen son and father to rest today in Brownville, NY. R.I.P #802VSP #VT #vermont #statepolice #neverforget #trooper #RIP #Officerdown A photo posted by Vermont State Police (@vtstatepolice) on Sep 23, 2015 at 1:22pm PDT
“They have a great deal of experience in this area from their dealings with the Queen city Marathon, Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon,” Flynn says.
The Vermont office of the Occupational Healthy and Safety Administration also will review the case. Flynn says the department’s fitness tests can’t endanger the health of its troopers. But he says the department also has to ensure members of its special teams are up to the task.
“When we utilize these teams, we want to make sure that we have the best people in the best shape that we can that’s appropriate for that position going out to serve the mission,” Flynn says.
The union that represents Vermont troopers said in a statement that week that it has full confidence in the department’s ability to conduct a thorough review. Kyle Young had two young daughters.
“And we’ve been working closely with the troopers union and the state to make sure we can do what we need to do to take care of those little girls and be able to provide for them the best we can,” Flynn says.
Flynn says state provisions for the girls could include college costs and other major life expenses.
Flynn says there’s no timeline for completing the review.
“We are going to get the answers to the questions that we need answered. And we’re going to come out of this on the other end better than we were back before this happened,” Flynn says.
"We are going to get the answers to the questions that we need answered. And we're going to come out of this on the other end better than we were back before this happened." - Keith Flynn, Commissioner of Public Safety
Senate President John Campbell says he’s satisfied with the department’s response to the tragedy, and that he’s confident Flynn’s investigation will identify any issues that need to be resolved.
“I think the most important thing people have to realize is these guys lost one of their own,” Campbell says. “And I think they are going to do everything they can to get the bottom of whether there was any issue that was overlooked, or anything that needs to be addressed going forward.”
