Vermont State Police have completed their investigation into a fight that broke out in January at the Alburgh Community Education Center in the US, and the subsequent death of one of the participants, 60-year-old Russell Giroux. Officers have not filed charges against anyone in connection with the man’s death.
Investigators determined that on January 31, during a friendly basketball game, there was a “verbal dispute between groups of fans of the Alburgh and St. Albans boys’ teams,” which then “escalated into a fight on the field at the Alburgh Community Education Centre.” Six people took part in the fight. One of them was the grandfather of one of the players, 60-year-old Russell Giroux. Not long after, while returning home, the man suffered a sudden heart attack. Two hours later he died in the hospital. A police investigation was launched into the matter, the results of which were shared in a statement published on April 21. Five people have been charged with assault, but none have been charged with contributing to Giroux’s death. As explained, “state police have found no evidence to support criminal charges related to the death of Russell Giroux.”
No charges in Russell Giroux’s death
The president of the Vermont School Principals Association admitted to the Independent that he questioned the umpires present on the field that day about the incident. In his opinion, they only confessed that the verbal skirmishes of the fans of both teams quickly escalated and turned into a bloody fight. “They only remember that they were refereeing the game and the next moment people on the field were beating each other,” he said. “One of these people had blood all over his face and his parents called the police,” he added. By the time officers arrived on the scene, the participants in the fight had already calmed down. Some of them also left the grounds of the Alburgh Community Education Centre. One such person was Russell Giroux. While returning home, the man suffered cardiac problems. He was transported to the hospital where he died two hours later. According to police, the man suffered from atherosclerosis, which made the sudden heart attack he experienced fatal.
The 60-year-old’s relatives described him in the obituary as a loving grandfather who was “the bond of the whole family”. “He liked walking in the mountains, telling jokes, riding and racing snowmobiles and jet skis, going to the casino. But above all, he loved his family,” it added.
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Independent, vtstatepolice.blogspot.com
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