The city of South Burlington fired one of its police officers due to two recent internal investigations dealing with credibility and an unrelated accident with a fleeing bicyclist, according to newly obtained city records.  A third complaint was minor, the city said.

Vermont News First broke the story last week that Officer Cody Wilson, a three-year veteran, was fired by City Manager Jessie Baker on Nov. 7 due to concerns about a questionable court affidavit.

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.

Few details were provided about the incident, but Wilson apparently pulled his cruiser in front of the wanted bicyclist, who was fleeing from a trespassing complaint, the letter said. The cruiser apparently went over the foot of the fleeing bicyclist after the crash, the letter said.  

Baker’s four-page letter also said he was found to have violated department policies for “conduct unbecoming an officer” and for “submitting reports” for the unrelated court affidavit incident.

Baker said the findings in either of those unrelated internal investigations was enough to call for his dismissal.  

The city manager said Wilson also was found to have violated the department policy on accepting gifts in a third case.  Somebody that had frequent encounters with South Burlington Police apparently provided Wilson with a four-pack of beer, records show.

The beer was received during the summer of 2024 and sat in his locker until it was reported to the command staff more than a year later on September 30, records note. 

The beer was located on Oct. 7 and removed from his locker, Baker wrote.  She said that was not a fireable offense, but discipline was warranted.  The letter does not mention any penalty apparently because the other two cases both warranted dismissal.

Attempts to reach Wilson, 36, of Fletcher was unsuccessful and his union lawyer, Susan Edwards, did not respond in recent days. 

Wilson can appeal his dismissal to the South Burlington City Council, Baker said in her letter to him.

Wilson and the police union had until late this week to file a formal appeal, a union spokesperson said.

The newly obtained records by Vermont News First also indicate that Wilson was initially placed on paid leave on Oct. 3, three days before new Police Chief William Breault arrived from New Hampshire.

According to the paperwork obtained by VNF, it appears Deputy Police Chief Sean Biscoe emailed concerns about Wilson to Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George at 10:38 a.m. Oct. 6.

Briscoe told George an internal investigation was underway for a few reasons, and he included a portion of the initial email that sparked the investigation into the affidavit. 

George responded to the city with two letters dated the same day. 

In one letter George said she was returning to the department a criminal case file that charged Eric Loyer with eluding police and negligent operation and asked that it be reinvestigated due to “conflicting statements made by Officer Wilson.”  She said she had dismissed the case, but it could be started over by a new officer. 

In the second letter, as reported by The Other Paper last week, George issued a so-called “Brady letter” that indicated she would not accept any more court cases from Wilson for criminal prosecution due to what she said were her concerns about his credibility. 

“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.

She said her office and the court relied on Wilson’s affidavit to charge Loyer with multiple criminal offenses.  Loyer, 33, formerly of Bristol is a frequent defendant in criminal court and tends to run from police and be combative, court records show.

“This conduct significantly undermines the State’s ability to rely on his testimony.  Therefore I am unwilling to call him as a witness and will not accept any criminal cases from him going forward,” George wrote about Wilson.

Breault, in an email sent to department employees at 11:20 a.m. Nov. 7, indicated that Wilson was no longer employed as a city police officer.  He said integrity was critical for police employees.

“As you know, employees of the South Burlington Police Department are held to a high standard to ensure the integrity and professionalism of the department.  Furthermore, the citizens of South Burlington must trust that their police officers are credible, fair, exercise sound decision making, and are held to the highest standard of professional conduct,” Breault wrote. 

George asked South Burlington Police to add her Brady letter to Wilson’s personnel file “so any future law enforcement agencies that he may apply to will have access to this information.” 

Law enforcement officers, including police chiefs, have been able to continue to work in Vermont even after a Brady letter is issued.

Before getting hired in South Burlington, Wilson attended Bellows Free Academy and Castleton State College and had a military career that included the Army National Guard.

Wilson was among the South Burlington police officers honored this summer by the city during its annual recognition gathering.  Wilson was assigned to the patrol division and had become certified recently as a Drug Recognition Expert for detecting impaired drivers on the highway.

It remains unknown how many criminal court prosecutions could be impacted by Wilson’s departure.