A Francestown, New Hampshire man sparked a police standoff on Wednesday after he allegedly shouted at a mail-man, tried to destroy his vehicle, and seriously injured the local police chief before barricading himself in his house for hours.
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After a call from around 9:30 a.m., Francestown Police Chief Frederick Douglas responded to reports about a man, Richard Vannostrand, 47, of Francestown, shouting at a local mail carrier and attempting to destroy his vehicle.
Vannostrand allegedly refused to cooperate with Chief Douglas and allegedly assaulted him, causing “significant” injuries that were not life-threatening.
According to WMUR, the chief sustained head injuries, and was transported to a hospital for treatment.
After allegedly attacking Douglas, Vannostrand barricaded himself in his house on Old County Road North. According to Vannostrand’s brother, who spoke with WMUR, his brother had never exhibited similar behavior before.
“Just something like this is sporadic and crazy and totally out of the realm of something he would even do,” said Josh Vannostrnad, the suspect’s brother.
Josh did, however, suggest that mental health issues played a role in his brother’s alleged crimes.
Josh also said that his brother briefly explained his actions by claiming that Douglas was going to kill him, and had tried to shoot him. The police press release does not indicate that Douglas was using, or was preparing to use, physical force to subdue Vannostrand before he was allegedly attacked.
After Vannostrand allegedly barricaded himself in his house, deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department, and officers from seven local police departments established a perimeter, and the New Hampshire State Police SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Units responded to the scene.
Law enforcement locked down the area, and asked residents to avoid the vicinity of Vannostrand’s house.
The standoff continued for hours, with Vannostrand apparently uncooperative. At 5:15 p.m., officers took action, using non-lethal force, breaking windows and shooting tear gas into the house to drive Vannostrand out.
At around 5:15 p.m., Vannostrand was arrested, and transported to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries. He faces charges for felony second degree assault and resisting arrest or detention, among “numerous” charges that were not specified by law enforcement.
No mugshot was included with the release, but a Facebook post from last year includes a photo of Vannostrand and includes additional information apparently from Josh, potentially shedding light on the situation.
Last July, an account called Queen City Alerts and News posted about Vannostrand, who had apparently abandoned his vehicle in the parking lot of Manchester, NH’s Catholic Medical Center.
That post included a message apparently from brother Josh, claiming that Vannostrand suffered from mental illness, depression, and was prescribed medication to deal with them, but that he has failed to take, or mis-administered, the drugs.
“Last seen in Manchester, NH in the parking lot at catholic medical center [sic] where he abandoned his vehicle. He suffers from some mental illness issues and maybe even some depression. he takes medications to control this but we believe he has not been taking them or severely messed them up . Richard is my brother. Our family is very worried about him and want him to come home safe,” said the 2024 post.
