18-03-2025
Vermont trooper involved in July 2024 shootout in Burke nominated for Trooper of the Year award
A Vermont State Trooper involved in a July 2024 shoot-out in Burke with a wanted man from Rhode Island is a finalist for a prestigious law enforcement award.
Richard Berlandy is one of four finalists from the United States and Canada for the International Association of Chiefs of Police / Motorola Solutions Trooper of the Year Award. The award recognizes state troopers and provincial officers who have demonstrated bravery, courage, leadership and professionalism in the line of duty.
It's the second year in a row a Vermont trooper has been nominated for the award. Last year, Michelle Archer of the Williston Barracks was nominated for diving into a frozen pond in December 2023 in Cambridge to save a young girl from drowning.
Berlandy has been assigned to the Derby Barracks since joining the Vermont State Police in 2019. He and two other troopers were on duty on July 14, 2024, when they were advised that a man wanted in Rhode Island for possessing altered firearms with large capacity magazines was in the area.
According to police at the time, US Border Patrol agents saw the man's pickup truck in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, and followed him into Vermont. Agents attempted to stop the man, identified as Brendan Sackal, with a tire-deflation device, but he continued to try to flee.
Berlandy joined the pursuit northbound on VT 114 and attempted to box in Sackal's truck. Sackal then rammed the cruiser and got ou of his truck firing what prosecutors later described as a privately manufactured 5.56 caliber AR-type pistol.
Berlandy and Mikola returned fire, wounding Sackal, who surrendered. They then tended Sackal's wounds until emergency medical care arrived. Sackal was taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in critical, but stable condition.
'The selection of Trooper Berlandy as a finalist is a recognition of the courage, professionalism and determination he and his fellow troopers demonstrated that July day,' Vermont State Police Director Col. Matthew T. Birmingham said, noting that agencies can submit only one name for award consideration.
Berlandy said his experience and training, as well as the presence of other law enforcem,ent officers, prepared him to handle the dangerous encounter.
'Once everything started to happen, I didn't have to think about what I needed to do. Everything was reactionary, and I was able to focus on the task at hand. All of my training just instinctually kicked in, helping me and eventually saving my life,' he said.
Finalists for the Trooper of the Year Award are chosen by members of the International Association of Chiefs of Police State and Provincial Police Trooper Berlandy represents the North Atlantic Region. One of the four finalists will be named the overall IACP / Motorola Solutions Trooper of the Year at a banquet Friday in Orlando, Florida.
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