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by Timothy Page
On July 16, the Vermont Criminal Justice Council decertified former Vermont State Police officer Zachary Gauthier.
Decertified officers can no longer be employed by police agencies.
In January 2023 Gauthier pled guilty to three misdemeanor charges: Violation of an Abuse Prevention Order, False Reports to Law Enforcement Authorities, and Violation of Conditions of Release.
The professional regulation subcommittee of the Council had previously approved charging Gauthier with a Category A violation of unprofessional conduct based on his criminal convictions and the underlying facts. Gauthier, who resigned from the Vermont State Police on April 15, 2022, has not been employed as a law enforcement officer since that date.
During the hearing, Gauthier presented evidence in his defense, attempting to sway the Council’s decision. However, after a deliberative executive session, the Council voted unanimously to permanently decertify Gauthier’s Vermont law enforcement certification. This decision will be reported to the National Decertification Index (NDI), effectively ending Gauthier’s law enforcement career.
In April 2022, Gauthier, then 31 and residing in Weathersfield, was cited on suspicion of animal cruelty and perjury. According to the affidavit of probable cause, in December 2021, Gauthier punched his family’s dog, breaking a knuckle in the process. He later lied under oath during a February 24 court hearing about the cause of his injury.
Additionally, he provided false testimony regarding the presence of alcohol in a vehicle he crashed on October 30, 2021.
The Springfield Police Department also cited Gauthier for violating an abuse prevention order. Following a consultation with the Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office, Gauthier was cited to appear in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in White River Junction on April 19, 2022. This case was handled by a detective sergeant from outside Gauthier’s assigned area to ensure impartiality.
Gauthier had been serving as a detective trooper at the Westminster Barracks and was placed on paid relief from duty earlier in the year before his resignation. The Vermont State Police have refrained from commenting further on the case, pending the public release of the affidavit of probable cause following Gauthier’s arraignment.
The desertification marks a definitive end to Gauthier’s troubled tenure in law enforcement, ensuring that he will no longer serve in any capacity that requires such certification.
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Categories: Court, Law Enforcement
Sometimes you get a bad one, so don’t stop supporting others who do their job according to the laws………………………………..
That is true, of course……but still, because men in particular are most inclined to engage in domestic abuse & animal cruelty (including weaponizing pets as a manipulative tactic in controlling their partners) we must presume & therefore proclaim that this situation as well was almost certainly the dog’s fault.
Both domestic animals and women are the true threats to “democracy” and to peaceful domestic settings.
Kathleen, please tone it down…your comments go beyond sarcasm and are bordering on bitter yet passive aggressive. Sheesh! Side note:I don’t punch my dog or my wife.
She’s also wrong about domestic violence. And nobody, and I mean nobody, thinks this is the dog’s fault or that this man ought not to be held accountable. 🙄
https://www.domestic-violence-law.com/blog/2016/april/women-or-men-who-usually-instigates-domestic-vio/
Who was Jezebel? Queen Elizabeth was not a cruel, cold, calculative monarch? The punking needs to stop – full stop. Spiritual warfare has hit the ground when people either boast themselves by a label or belittle themselves with a label.
The human condition to be cruel or kind swings both ways – it is not exclusive to the biological sex of the human. The mind is a terrible thing to waste through programming and witchcraft. The sooner we stop labeling and demoralizing by sex, creed, color, or origin – perhaps the divine creation of humankind will not go into instinction. We are steaming headlong into that direction with low-vibrational illogical juxaposing. The collective is better than what we are seeing/hearing. The remnant must raise the standards or get out of the way.
Seems like a guy with some issues he should try to deal with and probably should not be a police officer.