Defense seeks mental health exam in Syracuse police shooting case

Rodney Vanderpool's defense asked Onondaga County Court for a mental health examination, and the evaluation is scheduled for July 25. The judge said results should come back in about three to four weeks.

The request comes after the May 9 standoff at 120 Tyler Court in Syracuse's Pioneer Homes public housing complex, where police first responded around 5:57 a.m. to a report involving a man with a machete and injured or threatened dogs. Officers later tried to serve a search warrant around 9:35 or 9:36 a.m.; Vanderpool fired a shotgun through the door, shot two officers and injured a third, and held police at bay for roughly six to nine hours before surrendering around 3:15 to 3:18 p.m. More than 100 officers were involved, and investigators recovered a shotgun at the scene. By May 14, Syracuse police said the three injured officers were recovering at home.

Vanderpool, 55, was arraigned June 18 in Onondaga County Court after an Onondaga County grand jury indicted him, and prosecutors named 25 charges, including attempted murder counts tied to ten Syracuse police officers and a Syracuse University Department of Public Safety member. Under New York CPL article 730, a competency exam is used to decide whether a defendant is an incapacitated person and fit to proceed, and a court must order one if it believes that may be the case.