Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Harold Ryan
Age : 55
Gender : Male
Race : White
Date : 08/15/2023
Location : Killarney Drive
City : Burlington
County : Chittenden
State : Vermont
Agency : Burlington Police Department
Officer(s) :Unknown
Cause of Death : Suicide
Event : Suicide under police duress
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 08/15/2023, shortly after 5:00 p.m., Burlington Police Department officers responded to a residence on Killarney Drive after the homeowner, who was away from the property, reported through a home security camera that 55-year-old Harold Ryan of Georgia, Vermont, had entered the residence without permission. The homeowner knew Ryan but stated that he was not authorized to be inside the home. Officers located Ryan inside the property's garage, where he barricaded himself and refused repeated commands to surrender.
Burlington police established a perimeter, evacuated nearby residents, closed Killarney Drive, and deployed crisis negotiators in an effort to end the incident peacefully. Negotiators communicated with Ryan for more than two hours, attempting to persuade him to leave the garage voluntarily. Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad later stated that negotiators worked extensively to avoid a fatal outcome.
At approximately 7:35 p.m., officers heard a single gunshot from inside the garage. Officers entered the structure and found Ryan with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He died at the scene. The Vermont Chief Medical Examiner responded to investigate the death. Police reported that no officers discharged their weapons and that Ryan died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Because Ryan died while surrounded by police during an active barricade and surrender operation, this case falls within the category of a suicide occurring under immediate police pressure.
