Oxford Resident Trooper’s Office Receives Unit Citation For How They Handled Armed Suicidal Man

OXFORD, CT — Four troopers in the Oxford Resident Trooper’s Office received a unit citation award for their work in defusing a volatile situation involving an Oxford resident who owned a firearm and attempted suicide.

State Police recently handed out numerous awards for troopers who went above and beyond the call of duty. The Oxford Resident Trooper's Office was honored for its work.

Here is the summary from State Police:

On August 23, 2016, at 2:30 p.m., Troop A received a call from a woman regarding her brother, an Oxford resident who owned a firearm and was depressed and mentally unstable. He had attempted suicide in the past, so she requested a well-being check. Before responding, Trooper Vicki Donohoe learned that the man recently put a gun to himself and threatened suicide; he also broke into a former girlfriend’s home while armed with a pistol.

Trooper Donohoe, Sergeant Daniel Semosky and Oxford Officers Dennis D’Archangelo and Louis Denero entered the man’s residence. They located the man in a locked, second floor bathroom. When the man refused to exit, Officer Denero opened the door. Sgt. Semosky immediately entered the bathroom to secure the distraught man, while Trooper Donohoe seized a loaded pistol located on the sink next to him. The man was transported to a local hospital for examination.

Two days later, Trooper Donohoe spoke with the man’s former girlfriend, who stated that the man broke into her house a week earlier by climbing through an upstairs bedroom window. She awoke to find him pointing a loaded gun at her. On August 30, 2016, an arrest warrant was obtained for the man for home invasion, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief; he was arrested the following day.

These four Troopers earned the Unit Citation Award for the Oxford Resident Trooper’s Office.