Man accused of shooting cop declared incompetent
WOONSOCKET – The man accused of shooting Patrolman Travis Young in the thigh on July 2 has been declared incompetent to stand trial after an evaluation at the state psychiatric hospital.
Tyler Chandler, 22, of Portsmouth, was declared incompetent by Associate District Court Judge Christine S. Jabour on Tuesday after a psychiatric report was turned over to her by Cindy Soccio, chief legal counsel for the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals.
Collin M. Geiselman, deputy chief of the trial division for the Public Defender’s Office – Chandler’s lawyer – said there was no testimony given on the report, which was later sealed by the court.
State prosecutors and
BHDDH agreed to revisit the issue of Chandler’s competency on Jan. 9.
“The Defendant is Incompetent to stand trial and requires hospitalization at this time,” a one-page order entered by Jabour says.
A defendant can be declared mentally incompetent for a number of reasons, including an inability to assist in his or her defense or to understand the wrongfulness of their alleged actions.
Chandler allegedly traded gunfire with four city police officers after an episode that began when one of them saw him walking on Cumberland Street, casually toting a handgun, shortly before dawn on July 2.
Police say Chandler fired mul- tiple rounds at officers during a series of searches and foot chases that lasted that lasted for hours. He began firing at officers after police flushed him out of a hiding spot behind a Dumpster on Cumberland Street, before he managed to vanish into a patch of woods for a time. Officer Young was wounded during a second volley with Chandler that began after he emerged from the shrubs and the suspect made a dash for the parking lot of the Gateway Commons condo complex at 685 Social St.
Chandler holed up there, crouched between parked cars, for about two hours during a standoff that involved members of the SWAT team and numerous state and local police officers. He was captured after police set off two percussion grenades in the lot to distract Chandler before rushing him.
Chandler is facing six counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a firearm; five counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and possession of a pistol without a permit.
Meanwhile, Young remains listed as injured on duty and has not returned to work. WPD commanders say Young’s intention is to resume working as soon as he is medically cleared to do so.
A 2017 graduate of the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy, Young has been a member of the Woonsocket Police Department for less than nine months.