PTSD on Trial: Iraq Veteran Gets 5 Years in Jail After Standoff?

Hamilton man suffering from PTSD gets five years in standoff that injured two 
Press Of Atlantic City
By LYNDA COHEN, Staff Writer
Posted: Friday, May 22, 2015

MAYS LANDING — A Hamilton Township man whose untreated post-traumatic stress disorder led to a standoff with police and the shooting of a patrol car was sentenced to five years in prison Friday.

Vincent Hamburg Sr., 31, at one time faced a charge of attempted murder for shooting at an unmanned police car during the incident that began late Nov. 14, 2013 at his father's Hamilton Township home.

The standoff began when he says he blacked out as a result of alcohol-treated anxiety brought on by his PTSD. His father and then-fiancee were assaulted in the incident.

After police were called, the two victims came outside, but Hamburg -- armed with a rifle owned by his father -- kept police at bay for hours. Just before surrendering, he shot into a police car that was parked in the driveway.

"My service in Iraq is a highlight in my life," Hamburg wrote in a letter to U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo about his PTSD. "I expected sad memories of lost comrade from a war setting, yet had no idea my service overseas would have a lifelong effect on my daily living. More importantly, I am sad at what my PTSD has done to the lives of those I care deeply for and am closest to in my life." read more here