A Vermont judge has reversed an April ruling by the Woodstock Village Trustees upholding the demotion of Police Chief Joe Swanson, and the case will now go back to the village board.
Police are looking into a light-hearted series of theft reports at the Five Below store in the Berlin Mall after officers received a second call on November 29 involving what appears to be the same mischievous suspect.
As Vermont’s law enforcement agencies mark the 12th year of the state’s regulation on Automated License Plate Recognition Systems (ALPRs), members of the VDC team have highlighted the potential double-edged sword of this surveillance technology and the increasing prevalence of electronic surveillance technologies.
Now Vermont News First have learned that an internal review board had found Wilson guilty of violating department policies covering excessive force and “operation of vehicles,” for a Sept. 25th incident, according to his dismissal letter.
Like federal employees across the country, during the lapse in funding that began on October 1, and ended during the evening of November 12, the men and women of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont were not paid for the work they performed.
The funding flows from the federal government to Vermont’s Department of Public Safety, which then distributes it to local agencies, who then conducts patrols coordinated with the U.S. Border Patrol.
“Wilson made a patently false statement in a probable cause affidavit and neglected to include exculpatory evidence which was in the possession at the time of writing the affidavit,” George maintained in her letter.
Colby, who oversees a 10-deputy department, says the rules simply don’t work in Essex County, where federal officers are often the only backup available.
“Clearly, some things did not get done,” Palmer told the Standard on Tuesday afternoon, one day after the initial news report. “It’s on me, I dropped the ball.”
Scheduled speakers include Gov. Phil Scott, Commissioner of Public Safety Jennifer Morrison and Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the state police. They will honor members of the agency and others for acts of heroism and community service, and recognize 23 sworn members of the state police who have received promotions since last year’s awards ceremony was held in September 2024.
Deputy involved in fatal shooting among them
The Shelburne Police officer charged with an on-duty fatal cruiser-bicycle crash last year has apparently struck a deal with the state to resolve his reckless driving case, Vermont Superior Court records show.
Last Woodstock chief demoted in part for his haircuts
Vermont Superior Court Judge H. Dickson Corbett ruled Friday afternoon that the five Woodstock Village Trustees — Chair Seton McIlroy, Vice Chair Jeffrey Kahn, and members Brenda Blakeman, Frank Horneck, and Lisa Lawlor — had failed to properly follow the law.
Dover, N.H. Police Chief William N. Breault was named as the new police chief for the city of South Burlington on Tuesday afternoon.
A Quebec man navigating Lake Champlain struck a known reef near Sunset Island on Friday afternoon, prompting a multi-agency rescue response and the safe recovery of all four people aboard the damaged vessel.
The federal judiciary has run out of money to pay for defense lawyers assigned to represent criminal defendants in Vermont.
The coalition is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over HHS’s June decision to provide ICE access to Medicaid data, which the agency wants “to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them.”
With the summer heat on the rise, the Berlin Police Department is urging the public to avoid leaving pets—particularly dogs—unattended in parked vehicles, warning that the practice is not only dangerous but may also lead to criminal charges under Vermont law.
Thomas had fought a couple of courageous battles with cancer off-and-on for several years, but succumbed on Monday evening, officials said. Thomas had spent two dozen years in law enforcement, including three years as police chief in Shelburne.
Balint’s remarks, delivered Wednesday during debate over immigration enforcement policy, sparked immediate backlash from the White House, with a statement calling Balint’s comments “deeply irresponsible and dangerous.”
Baker said the city received 14 applications to replace Chief Shawn Burke, who resigned, effective in March, to take a two-year post as the interim police chief in Burlington.
“Advocates with the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project said 10 construction workers were detained by ICE in Newport on Thursday,”
As AG Clark and her Vermont lawyer followers publicly rallied to protest, they showed their opposition to Vermont’s responsibility to adhere to our US Constitution. This action by a US State Attorney General and more than 300 licensed lawyers defies logic, and common sense.
The Woodstock Foundation Board of Directors have agreed to a proposed out-of-court settlement with the former longtime chair and vice chair of the board in their lawsuit over claims they were improperly removed and that the Woodstock Inn & Resort and the Billings Farm & Museum had been mismanaged.
The unique tests, launched late last year, allow people with an interest in becoming a state trooper to just show up without an appointment, application or taking any prior steps.
A citizen had asked the selectboard on April 8, “Why isn’t he wearing [his uniform] so he looks like a police chief and not a gangster off the street that’s just driving our cruisers around?”
The state board that makes and enforces policing policies today emphasized and clarified when Vermont police may and may not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Silas Loomis has been the Castleton constable since Richard Nixon was in the White House.
According to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, the medal recognizes people who risk serious injury or death in extraordinary acts to save others.
Berlandy became involved in a pursuit and gun battle in Burke with a wanted fugitive from Rhode Island, and then provided life-saving medical care to the man who just attempted to kill him and two other troopers.
Hemond had been with the department for more than 19 years. He earlier served as a patrol officer with both St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville Police Departments.
Besides his federal co-workers from the Green Mountain State, Maland also was honored with a delegation of troopers from the Vermont State Police led by Lt. Andy Jenson, commander at the Derby barracks.
The deceptive national push for “smart justice”
Veteran VT police officer Allan A. Fortin, who became the leading voice and face for highway traffic safety in the state, died at his Hinesburg home Sun. at 61.
While accountability is essential, Act 124 unfairly singles out law enforcement officers while ignoring judges, attorneys, and legislators.
Woodstock residents are not being permitted to read the investigative report they are paying for concerning management concerns within the village PD.
Winooski is the only majority-minority school district in Vermont, and its students come from more than two dozen countries.
According to the contract with the town, the investigator has been asked to investigate employee concerns based on town policies and procedures.
Citizens question how Municipal Manager Eric Duffy has handled the paid administrative leave he ordered for Police Chief Joseph Swanson in October.
“Colby said he would likely call immigration authorities after a traffic stop if he thought the people in the car were undocumented….Colby estimated his department had relayed about 20 cases to immigration authorities in the last year, not a particularly high figure in his mind,” the news story said.
DiSabito said he has decided to dismiss the criminal charge that Grismore, while a deputy, kicked an intoxicated, unruly prisoner in the groin in August 2022
The revolving doors of the justice system have the citizens and the police frustrated, and I would bet that the judges don’t like it much better, but they are constrained by the law—namely, the Vermont Constitution.
DMV has launched the Blue Envelope Program for Vermont drivers on the autism spectrum to make routine traffic stop interactions easier, safer, less stressful.
BPD and the public met at City Hall on Thursday afternoon to share information and solutions regarding how to curb increased crimes in The Queen City.
Detectives from the Major Crime Unit and Bureau of Criminal Investigations are actively conducting interviews and gathering evidence.
The Council’s decision to decertify Gauthier underscores the importance of integrity and accountability within law enforcement.
Grand Isle Sheriff goes into the community to find more local residents to help fill the jury box after running out of people.
There was no basis for any charges or actions against Wade Cochran of Waterford, Agency of Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn said.
A human skull discovered four years ago may have helped at least partially solve a decade-plus old mystery.
Gregory Bombard flipped off a State Trooper in 2018, was arrested, and claims to have suffered from retaliation since. VSP declines to confirm or deny.
In New York City and beyond, some public officials need a refresher on the sacrifices police make for public safety.
SHARP is continuing its Route 105 pilot enforcement program and expanding it to include the Chimney Corners area.
A candidate for Vermont House Bruce Roy of Williston is running as a Republican for the Chittenden County Southeast District.
KeepVermontSafe.com tracks the work of law enforcement across Vermont. A recent report focuses on Burlington’s continued struggle to staff the BPD following the 2020 defunding initiative.
Lack of staffing led to Burlington PD almost being overwhelmed last night in a flurry of mayhem.
Friday, BPD and representatives met with the students impacted by this situation for a restorative circle.
On April 1, 1982, children waiting for a school bus on Mill Hill Road (now known as Gillespie Road) in Northfield located a deceased infant just off the roadway….
Hiring increases reported for first time since 2020.
What happens when district attorneys — members of their states’ executive branches — refuse to execute the laws of the land?
If cameras catch you driving more than 10 mph over the limit, the rig takes a photo of your license plate and you’ll get a ticket in the mail.
The bill would hold drug sellers responsible for deaths caused by their distribution of laced drugs, even if doing so was down to mere carelessness.
The bill would limit Vermont police interrogators from lying to detainees. But lawmakers doubled down on details that got last year’s version shot down.
The mayor has always maintained that he was against the policy from the start.
Vermont’s legal online sales of beer and wine is being used for the purchase of alcohol by minors.
H.297 expands presumption of work-related PTSD.
If a business is culpable, H.614 allows police to seize any equipment it used for illegal activity.
Trooper Michelle Archer has been selected as a finalist for the International Association of Chiefs of Police / Motorola Solutions Trooper of the Year Award.
Supposedly ‘equity’ minded lawmakers want to cover Vermont highways with traffic cameras that elsewhere have led to ‘disproportionate’ traffic ticketing for minorities.
Wade Cochran, director of the enforcement and safety division at the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, has been placed on paid leave pending an unspecified Federal investigation.
The Vermont Sheriffs’ Association held a press conference on Monday at the State House to call for the resignation of Franklin County Sherriff John Grismore regarding a use-of-force incident.
Cutting funding for clerks is akin to defunding the already understaffed, hard-pressed Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
