The bill would limit Vermont police interrogators from lying to detainees. But lawmakers doubled down on details that got last year’s version of the plan shot down.

By Norah White

A bill to stop Vermont police interrogators from lying to detainees is moving through the Statehouse. But lawmakers have doubled down on details that got a previous version of the plan vetoed — making it likely to fail again.

The bill, S.285, calls for statewide policy that would ban deception as an interrogation tactic in most cases. When the bill was introduced in January, the policy would’ve applied only to interrogations of people younger than 20 — a retreat from last year’s S.6, which covered detainees under 23 years old. Gov. Phil Scott opposed the earlier bill’s broader scope and vetoed it.  

But the Senate last week scrapped age limits entirely and passed a version of S.285 that restricts deception in interrogations across the board. Now not even the bill’s lead sponsor supports it — and the legislation faces slimming chances of passing. 

“At this point, I know the governor will veto it,” said Senate judiciary committee chair Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who introduced both bills.

The current bill directs the Vermont Criminal Justice Council to create a model policy that would prohibit police use of threats, deception and physical harm during interrogations. It defines deception as “the knowing communication of false facts about evidence or unauthorized statements regarding leniency.” Legislators aim to prevent false confessions instigated by lies and to improve trust between police and the public.

After the veto last year, Sears said lawmakers would shelve their effort in favor of a new bill with a lower age. 

Introducing S.285 in January, he had wanted to focus on interrogations of people under the age of 20 — a concession to Scott and reps from the Vermont attorney general’s office, who thought the original age was too high.

He believes the changes to the bill invite another veto. 

Case in point: The move to drop an age limit has drawn pushback from state’s attorneys, numerous law enforcement agencies and even many victim advocates, said Senate Minority Leader Randy Brock, R-Franklin. 

Brock believes deception can be important in getting confessions. When the bill hit the Senate floor, he proposed a revision that would put the focus back on juveniles, earning support from Vermont Commissioner of Public Safety Jennifer Morrison.

“By adopting Sen. Brock’s amendment … senators can address the flaws in S. 285 and ensure a more balanced approach to the issue,” Morrison said in a letter to senators. But the move failed in a 11–18 Senate vote on March 27, and the bill passed the next day. It debuted in the House on Tuesday.

Supporters of the bill believe the use of deception is a corrupting influence in law enforcement. “It is disturbing to me, overall and in general, to hear so many people use the phrase ‘deception is a key tool in our toolbox,’” said Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden-Central, in a judiciary committee meeting March 22. 

Currently, Vermont law enforcement uses an interrogation training system by the name of the REID Technique of Investigative Interviewing, which advises the use of deception. The training guide would effectively be banned under the bill.

In its place would be a new policy developed by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and Office of the Attorney General for most interrogations by Oct. 1. By the start of next year, according to the bill, the council would finalize the policy into “one cohesive model policy for law enforcement … to adopt.”

By April 1 next year, law enforcement agencies would be barred from receiving grants or other funds if they aren’t in compliance with the policy.

The bill doesn’t offer many specifics for a model policy, but it does require all interrogations to be recorded and focused equally on the interrogator and the subject. Exceptions can be made for exigent circumstances, such as the person’s complete refusal to be recorded — otherwise, a judge would be allowed to caution juries about the weight of any evidence gathered from an unrecorded interrogation. 

The purpose of recording is to hold all parties accountable and ensure no prohibited tactic such as deception or physical harm takes place. 

In March, a new draft of the bill began circulating in the committee that scrapped Sears’ proposed scope of interrogations of people under the age of 20. Instead lawmakers wanted the bill to apply the model policy to all people. 

“When we’re developing model policy, I think it should be for everyone,” Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden-Central, said in a March 15 committee meeting. 

“This policy should apply to everyone,” said Indi Schoenherr, a policy advocate from the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, in the same meeting. “We’ve had ample conversations around this bill and the importance of it moving forward so that we can end the use of deception and coercion in our state. So we would really like to see this bill move forward.” 

A spokesman for Scott responded to requests for comment by forwarding on Morrison’s letter. Vyhovsky did not respond to requests for comment.

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