The latest biannual report on disciplinary action taken against Vermont State Police troopers shows four violations of vehicle pursuit policy, as well as three cases where officers facing internal investigations resigned before reviews could be completed.
The report from the Vermont Department of Public Safety and the State Police Advisory Commission covers the period from Jan. 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024 and provides brief summaries of the 19 internal investigations undertaken during that span.
The internal probes found that eight state police members violated policy while eight did not. In the remaining cases, the report stated, the three members involved resigned before the investigations could be completed.
Of the eight cases in which the investigations found that department policies were violated, four involved breaches of vehicle pursuit policies. Those violations led to three troopers suspended a day without pay and another receiving a letter of reprimand.
Four other investigations related to allegations of vehicle pursuit policy violations were determined to be “unfounded” following the internal probes.
Maj. David Petersen, state police Field Force Division commander, stated in an email Monday that the law enforcement agency changed its policy regarding vehicle pursuits in 2021, making it “more restrictive” for troopers to engage them.
“To be clear, VSP does not have a no-pursuit policy,” Petersen wrote. “Vehicle pursuits are permissible, but only when cause exists to believe the suspects have committed acts of violent conduct.”
Following the policy change, Petersen added, police participated in “trainings and discussions,” and the number of vehicle pursuits has since declined.
“Still, law enforcement officers are required to make split-second decisions in rapidly evolving events,” Petersen wrote. “VSP recognized it was inevitable that members would make decisions and take actions that fall outside of policy limitations.”
State police, he wrote, are hosting additional training sessions and increasing the potential discipline for this particular policy violation.
The other confirmed violations outlined in the latest report included a state police member who received a letter of reprimand for violating rules pertaining to uniform standard. Three others violated the “responsibility” policy and were suspended without pay — six days for one and four days for the other two.
“Responsibility,” according to Adam Silverman, a state police spokesperson, “is an element of the Code of Conduct. It states: ‘No member shall intentionally avoid the responsibilities of their position.’”
In two instances, according to the latest report, troopers facing allegations of excessive force while taking a person into custody resigned before the reviews of the investigation could be completed.
In another case, the report stated, a state police member facing a probe into an allegation of being untruthful during an internal affairs investigation also resigned before a review could be concluded.
The reports, which are released at six-month intervals by the Vermont Department of Public Safety and the State Police Advisory Commission, provide only a sentence or two about the nature of each incident and alleged violation. The summaries do not detail what specific actions troopers took, nor do they provide the identities of the troopers involved, which has led to complaints that not much can be learned from them.
The identities of the troopers, as well as identifying details of the incidents, are withheld because internal affairs investigations are confidential by statute, officials with the Vermont Department of Public Safety, which oversees the state police, and the State Police Advisory Commission have said.
The State Police Advisory Commission is charged with providing “advice and counsel” to the public safety commissioner on misconduct allegations that lead to internal investigations against Vermont State Police members.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Latest state police disciplinary report shows suspensions and 3 resignations amid probes.