by Mike Smith The tragic death of Kyle Young — a young Vermont State Police trooper who died during a training exercise at the National Guard firing range in Jericho — was a shock to many Vermonters. What was perhaps even more shocking is the cause of his death: heat stroke.According to WebMD: “The medical definition of heat stoke is a core body temperature greater than 105 degrees Fahrenheit, with complications involving the central nervous system that occur after exposure to high temperatures.”
On the day of Young’s death temperatures were in the 80s.
So the question that many are asking is why wasn’t such a preventable death prevented?
What caused Trooper Young’s core body temperature to rise to such a dangerous level? Was the training regime too arduous for the temperature conditions? Or was there some other medical reason that went undiscovered by State Police supervisors and medical staff until it was too late?
Trainees vying for a coveted position on an elite squad such as our state police Tactical Support Unit expect the training to be tough, and one important component of training is to push through pain and doubt, while proving that you can accomplish a task or mission. This can make it difficult for trainees to recognize or acknowledge serious injury or emergent medical conditions. Given this dynamic, it is essential for trainers and medical personnel to protect trainees by ensuring safe training protocols.
The National Football League has confronted a similar challenge with concussions and has instituted protocols to reduce the incidence of head trauma and prevent a player from taking the field with a head injury. The Department of Public Safety must have medical safety protocols in place. But more importantly, those protocols should foster an environment that strikes the right balance between pushing trainees to achieve their best while encouraging them to speak up when they are sick or injured.
Questions about existing protocols and whether they were followed have yet to be answered, but the investigation of this tragic death should follow this general rule: the Department of Public Safety should not be the agency that conducts this investigation.
It is not uncommon for these types of investigations to be handled outside of the agency that is directly involved. This eliminates any perception of bias in the investigation. Oftentimes in this type of situations an independent investigator or investigative team is assigned to examine the protocols and training procedures of the agency being investigated.
GovernorJim Douglas required an independent review of the policy and procedures of the Department of Corrections following multiple suicides in Vermont’s prisons. He knew that having Corrections, or even the Agency of Human Services involved, would make any conclusions suspect, even if they were wholly accurate and aggressive. While we should certainly respect the Department of Public Safety’s desire to honor the life of their fallen brother by conducting the internal review, the department should instead call for an independent review and recuse itself from the investigation.
The combined effort of VOSHA’s workplace safety investigation and an independent investigation that examines the training and the training protocols could save the lives of other brave law enforcement officers and give every Vermonter unwavering confidence in the department and its policies.
Stuck in the middle
Turning to presidential politics, our very own U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders must have the song “Stuck in the Middle (With You)” sung by Stealers Wheel playing over and over in his head.
Hillary Clinton’s precipitous decline in the polls may have abated, at least momentarily. Whereas Bernie is looking like he may have hit a ceiling with his support now hovering in the high 20 or low 30 percent range. Bernie is now stuck between Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in most polls, and if Biden doesn’t run, it is presumed much of his support would go to Clinton.
Local politicians who back Clinton over Sanders must be breathing a slight sigh of relief, at least for the time being. But if Clinton does go on and beats Sanders in the Democratic primary, then the question is whether Bernie supporters will ever forgive those Democratic politicians in Vermont who failed to support Sanders?
Where in the world is Bruce Lisman?
In state politics many are wondering where Bruce Lisman has been. A recent Castleton Polling Institute survey is showing the former Wall Street executive with the lowest name recognition of anyone running for governor. You would think he would be out there beating the bushes to pump up his name recognition. Or, at least, in his car traveling up and down Route 7 meeting with people given that the western counties of Vermont are crucial to winning a Republican primary.
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But little has been seen of Lisman since he announced he intends to run against popular Lt. Gov. Phil Scott. Scott, on the other hand, is busy, getting out around the state and generating news.
Of course, it’s early. And Lisman has plenty of money to buy name recognition with political ads. But this is Vermont, and we are accustomed to meeting our candidates, getting to know them and seeing if they’re working hard to earn support.
Mike Smith was the secretary of administration and secretary of human services under former GovernorJim Douglas. He is the host of the radio program, “Open Mike with Mike Smith,” on WDEV. He is also a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT radio and is a regular contributor to the Times Argus, Rutland Herald and Vermont Business Magazine.