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By MIKE DONOGHUE
Vermont News First
This news story appeared first in the Vermont Standard, a weekly newspaper published in Woodstock.
Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer is under investigation by the Vermont State Police for questions about department spending and finances, officials said.
Adam Silverman, chief spokesman for the Vermont State Police, confirmed a tip received by the Vermont Standard concerning the investigation.
State Police Major Jeremy Hill, head of the criminal division, also said the investigation was in its preliminary stages so there was little to share about the case.
Hill said state police – as standard protocol – have assigned detectives from outside Windsor County to investigate.
Palmer told the Vermont Standard he had not been interviewed by state police.
The newspaper confirmed the original tip came to Vermont State Police on its anonymous tip line.
The investigation comes — by coincidence or otherwise — as two top ranking deputies departed the sheriff’s department.
Capt. Paul Samataro, the chief deputy, and Lt. Tom Battista resigned their department commissions on July 23, Palmer said.
He said the department agreed to continue to cover health insurance for Battista for two months and he recently has been hired by Chester Police. Samataro will be paid until Oct. 1, Palmer said.
Samataro of Wilmington and Battista of Springfield did not respond to phone and text messages in recent days.
Samataro had worked in Windsor County for more than a year after being employed by the Windham County Sheriff’s Department.
Battista, a 20-year police veteran was initially employed by former Windsor County Sheriff D. Michael Chamberlain. Chamberlain, who served 40 years as sheriff, initially wasn’t going to run for-election in 2022, but said he changed his mind when voters asked him.
Battista and Palmer squared off in August 2022 in the Democratic primary election, which Palmer won. Palmer went on to defeat Chamberlain, a Republican, in the General Election and opted to keep Battista on his payroll.
Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough said this week he was aware of the general complaint. He said he has asked Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage to be the independent eyes and ears for the state police. Goodenough wanted to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Marthage, one of the state’s senior prosecutors, did not respond to multiple inquiries.
Issues about sheriff’s spending have been an ongoing concern throughout the state through the years. It has surfaced in several Vermont counties because the state law is vague.
Under Vermont law, the 14 sheriffs operate their departments as part public and part private. The state and county provide minimum funds, and the sheriffs need to raise money to cover many routine expenses, including buying and equipping their police cruisers.
The County Sheriffs need to make up the rest through public and private contracts that they negotiate. They are allowed to keep up to 5 percent for their expenses.
The Vermont legislature has yet to address the weird dynamic even with periodic complaints across the state.
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Categories: Police Reports
No specifics in this article and we will see how it plays out. What I do know is how much I appreciate the service Sheriff Palmer and his deartment provide fo my own community and others in our region. They have been very responsive to a wide range of problems. They have put a good deal of their focus on the problem of drug dealers and crimes resulting from those addicted to drugs.
This is a stupid archaic system in Vt where Sheriffs are given more and more responsibility because State Police are stretched to their limit, but essentially, must try to support themselves! Why the Legislature won’t deal with this problem is beyond me, and you wonder why this issue continues to arise in these departments? I don’t!
The goal is to get rid of the county Sheriffs, whom are elected by the people. The county Sheriffs should be paid for from a county tax and they should not be forced to get contracts from certain towns. All towns should pay their portion of the tax to pay for these operations. The Sheriffs are public officers and not private cops. Comment from Richard Day.
The system does need to be revamped for better accountability, the problem is and the reasoning behind the design is Vermont has no system of County Government like other states around us, just Towns or Cities and State however the law created the County Sheriffs which have no means of being funded except with contracts with or gifts from towns or state. One of the ancient Vermont laws that was never modified, may require a State Constitution change.