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Editor s note: This story was written by Cindy Ellen Hill,a law and policy writer and attorney in Middlebury. The House Governmental Operations Committee is taking up the issueof appropriate Vermont State Police procedures in response to callsregarding missing recreationalists, according to committee memberRep. Willem Jewett, D-Addison. Speaking at the Legislative Breakfast held at the American LegionPost in Middlebury on Feb. 20, Jewett acknowledged the greattragedy of the death of 19-year-old Levi Duclos of New Haven, whowas found dead on the Emily Proctor Trail in the Green MountainNational Forest in Ripton on Jan. 10 after being reported as anoverdue hiker the prior evening. Criticism of the Vermont State Police s failure to initiate aground search until the following morning while night temperaturesreached the single digits began immediately after word of Levi sdeath was reported. Almost immediately after it occurred we in the Legislaturereceived contacts from all over Addison County, initially fromfamily members and friends of Levi and then spreading throughoutthe community, and then from Chittenden and Rutland counties aswell, Jewett said, adding that the articles in Vermont Diggeralso brought a sense of urgency to the Legislature. Jewett is a recent addition to the House Government OperationsCommittee. Speaking with Chair Donna Sweaney, D-Windsor, Jewettlearned that the committee has the appropriate authority to addressthe question of Vermont State Police protocols. On Feb. 17,committee members including Jewett met in a closed-door sessionwith two representatives of the Vermont Department of Public Safetyregarding state police response to the report that Levi Duclos hadnot returned from a run with his dog on the popular trail loop. Thecontent of that meeting has not yet been released to the public,but Jewett states that the information gained was useful in guidingthe committee s steps. Our committee is dedicated to taking up this issue and looking atwhat standard to use when there is a missing recreationalist, Jewett said. And what that standard should be is that we shouldget people out looking right away. Set up a command post at thetrailhead, get all the volunteers out. Get all the assets on theground right away and then figure out the smartest way to get tothe person. Standard of response Legal standards as well as community values will shape the ultimatelanguage and form of legislative response. Those legal standardswill include consideration of the duty of care prescribed by theVermont Supreme Court in the late November 2011 case of Kennery v.State of Vermont. Relatives of elderly Gladys Kennery,vtdigger.org/2011/12/02/a-case-for-negligence/ who livedalone in Marlboro, had arranged for Kennery to phone them whenleaving to and returning from doctor s appointments. In March2007, Kennery s daughter called 9-1-1 reporting that her motherhad not called to confirm her safe return home. The daughter gaveexplicit directions to Kennery's house, let police know wherethe spare key was located, and advised that her 85-year-old motherhad previously fallen when getting from her car to the house.Vermont State Police responded to the call five hours after it camein, then searched the wrong house and found no one home. A postal delivery person discovered Kennery the next morning;she d fallen and spent the night on her porch, and died shortlythereafter from the damage caused by hypothermia. Law enforcement agencies frequently cite the case of Warren v.District of Columbia, 444 A2d 1 (1981) for the proposition thatpolice have no duty to protect citizens or to respond to any givenpolice services call. The Vermont Supreme Court found differentlyin the Kennery case, however, holding that when police in Vermonttake action to provide aid to someone potentially in distress, theyhave a duty to exercise reasonable care that includes notincreasing the risk of harm to the individual. The Vermont SupremeCourt specifically stated that a jury could find that Vermont StatePolice increased the risk of harm to Gladys Kennery because leavingher outside overnight increased her risk of hypothermia. In light of the Supreme Court s ruling, the Department of PublicSafety entered into a monetary settlement with Gladys Kennery sfamily. Search and rescue standards of other agencies in and out of Vermontemphasize a swift response in their mandates. The VermontAeronautics Board is required to maintain "workable plans forthe immediate handling" of emergencies, meaning plans ofaction for search and rescue that will mobilize all state agencieswhich can contribute in such emergencies the first objectivebeing to save human life and render prompt aid to survivors. The 2000 Coast Guard Search and Rescue Plan regarding overduevessels requires personnel to [f]ormulate a search plan. Beaggressive. Hit it hard and hit it early. Boats that don t comeback to dock when expected, more than any other type of case,require innovative thought and extremely careful analysis of theinformation and should never be taken lightly, the plan states. Maine state statutes mandate that the Warden Service exercise theauthority to take reasonable steps to ensure the safe and timely recovery ofoverdue hunters, anglers and other outdoor recreationalists,authorizing the wardens to summon any person in the State toassist in search and rescue attempts. Jewett saw the wave of concern as representing core Vermont values,including a strong commitment to render prompt aid to outdoorrecreationalists in distress. That the death of a young man on amountainside initiated this outpouring of concern reflects just howstrong our Vermont communities are, Jewett said. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Visible Beam Laser Pointer , Wifi Enabled Cell Phones, and more. For more , please visit Led Downlight Replacement today!
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