Vermont state trooper blinded with serious eye injuries

By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First

Vermont State Police said Friday night that Colin Wesley Palmer, 24, of Burlington has been ordered into criminal court in connection with smashing a window in a police vehicle and the spraying of glass into the eyes of a state trooper during efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make arrests in South Burlington on March 11.

The court citation for charges of simple assault and aggravated disorderly conduct was accepted by his defense attorney, Robert Appel, State Police spokesman Adam Silverman said.

Palmer was issued an arraignment date of July 28 in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington, police said.

It is unknown if Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George will honor the court citation issued by police. The county prosecutor declined to follow through on three arrests by Burlington Police and three arrests by state police from the same riot.

Police credit a large public response that helped identify Palmer as the person that seriously injured the state trooper.

The trooper lost his vision briefly and missed more than a week of work due to his injuries, police said. Police issued two still photographs and two videos from VSP body-worn cameras to get help from the public.

A half hour after Vermont News First posted his picture, the news outlet began getting tips with the name of the suspect, who attended South Burlington High School and ran cross county. Fellow members of the class of 2020 were among those to recognize him.

Other tips to Vermont News First, included a couple of videos of Palmer being introduced at a Burlington City Council meeting in April and him offering a rambling statement at a rally of the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at the Statehouse in Montpelier in February 2024.

The unnamed trooper, who is from the Northeast Kingdom, got broken glass in both eyes shortly before 7 p.m. as the day-long incident began to wind down, officials said. EMS at the scene was able to flush his eyes and get some of the glass out before he was rushed to the UVM Medical Center to get more medical attention.

Treatment continued at the Emergency Department where doctors and specialists tended to him, officials said. They were unable to get all the chards of glass out and he was sent referred to an eye doctor the next day.

State police said Friday that there was some skirmish between Palmer and troopers before the broken glass incident.

The VSP’s Critical Action Team was withdrawing from the scene shortly before 7 p.m. and got into a department van with its emergency lights activated when a rioter ran up to the vehicle and smashed a rear window, officials said.

Palmer has now been identified as the man who jumped at the window and shattered the glass, according to video and officials.

Damage to the taxpayer-owned van is estimated at $500, Silverman said.

Police said the public is still encouraged to continue to call in tips concerning assaults, vandalism and other crimes during the day-long protest. Some members of the crowd got out of control when Immigration and Customs Enforcement attempted to take wanted people into custody at a barricaded house on Dorset Street, police said.

State police said pictures of the suspect that broke the glass were not immediately released due to the large number of hours of video that had to be reviewed to ensure they had pictures and video of the correct person.

The review of the video still continues, police said.

As the criminal investigation continued last month, Vermont State Police ordered Connie Anania, 53, of South Burlington into Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on charges of simple assault, gross negligent operation and disorderly conduct, police said.

Anania is due to appear in court July 9, police said.

VSP’s investigation determined that Anania drove on a closed section of Dorset Street that was occupied by numerous members of the public and law enforcement, Detective Trooper Brandon Degre said.

At one point Anania was seen steering toward police and protesters in the median and placing state troopers in fear of being struck by the car, Degre reported.

Investigators also determined Anania was among demonstrators who impeded a law enforcement vehicle from attempting to leave the protest area, state police said.

It also is unknown if George plans to honor the court citation ordering Anania to appear for her arraignment.

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