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El Paso County Colorado District Attorney John Newsome Denies Being Drunk After Drinking In Two Bars And Driving County-Owned Vehicle
May 11th, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO - A Colorado Springs TV station reported that El Paso County District Attorney John Newsome drank eight beers in a little over five hours and then drove home in a county-owned vehicle.
KOAA-TV reported Tuesday it videotaped Newsome drinking at two bars between 4:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on a “recent” day. It didn’t give the date.
The station said Assistant District Attorney Amy Mullaney drank six beers with Newsome in that period and also drove afterward, but it wasn’t clear if she was in a county vehicle or her own.
Both denied driving drunk.
Newsome told The Gazette newspaper: “I don’t drink to impairment and drive.” Mullaney said neither she nor Newsome has ever been cited for DUI.
Newsome later apologized for his behavior.
“I sincerely apologize for ever allowing myself to be placed in that situation where there’s even a perception of wrongdoing,” Newsome said.
Read MoreVermont Attorney General Finds Brattleboro Police Used Excessive Force In Taser Weapon Attack On Peaceful Protesters And One Other Incident
April 11th, 2008
BRATTLEBORO, VT - Vermont’s Attorney General says Brattleboro police violated use-of-force policies in two taser incidents last summer. The findings were part of a report issued after a 7-month investigation of police use of tasers in Vermont.
Bill Sorrell says Brattleboro police improperly used tasers twice, but the Attorney General also found that tasers– when properly used– have become an important police tool that save lives and prevent injuries.
“This is indeed a weapon,” says Sorrell.
The weapon is the electronic compliance device better known as a taser. Applied to open skin, it temporarily paralyzes with a non-lethal, high-voltage, painful shock.
28 police departments now use them in Vermont, but it was Brattleboro’s use of the taser in two instances last summer that triggered the Attorney General’s investigation. In one case, the Brattleboro cops repeatedly tased a young couple passively protesting in an open field.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Attacked Peaceful Protesters With Taser Weapons After They Planted Flowers In Vacant Lot - Totally Worthless Do-Nothing VT Attorney General Won’t Charge Cops For Their Crimes
April 8th, 2008
MONTPELIER, VT - Attorney General William Sorrell said yesterday that Brattleboro police used excessive force in two incidents last July in which they used Tasers to shock people, but that officers would not face criminal charges.
“I’m sorry to report that the Brattleboro police blew it in both cases,” Sorrell said. The comment came as he released copies of a 43-page report by his office on the use of Tasers and other weapons designed to be nonlethal by police in Vermont.
Sorrell said the 28 police agencies in the state equipped with the weapons, which are used to subdue unruly suspects by delivering a 50,000-volt electric shock, generally have found them to be a valuable tool. He said Tasers result in fewer injuries than nightstick blows and that the pain they cause is over much quicker than with pepper spray.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Selectmen Attempt To Rein In Crazed Police Officers After Their Taser Weapon Attack On Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers In Vacant Lot
February 20th, 2008
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — The Selectboard gave its approval to the police department’s revamped use of force policy at its Tuesday night meeting.
The policy had been under fire since a pair of nonviolent protesters were shocked with Tasers, July 24, 2007, after they refused to leave private property on Putney Road. The pair was among a group that was protesting the possibility of the development of the lot into a gas station and travel center on the vacant lot.
The board had asked Town Manager Barbara Sondag to establish a committee to review the old policy and create a new one to prevent such use in the future.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont To Face Lawsuit After Crazed Police Officers Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick And Peter DiMarino Attack Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers In Vacant Lot With Taser Weapon - Our Tax Dollars At Work
February 14th, 2008
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — The town of Brattleboro will face another lawsuit over last summer’s controversial use of Tasers on a pair of peaceful protesters.
Attorney David C. Sleigh of St. Johnsbury said Monday he would be filing a suit against the town on behalf of the two protesters, Jonathan Crowell and Samantha Kilmurray, both of West Dummerston.
Sleigh, who was hired last summer after the two were arrested, Tasered and cited into court for trespassing, said he was waiting for the town’s own investigation into the incident before filing the civil rights suit.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Board Tables Taser Weapon Policy Soon After Police Officers Lt. Charles Aleck, Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick, And Michael Gorman’s Brutal Taser Weapon Attack On Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers In Vacant Lot
December 25th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT - While it’s not the tool of first choice, the police department has to have the option of using stun gun weapons to arrest a person who refuses to obey a lawful order, said acting Police Chief Eugene Wrinn, during Tuesday night’s Selectboard meeting.
“At some point, we have no choice,” said Wrinn, and have to use force to arrest someone who won’t submit to a police officer’s authority.
This was the second time a revised use of force policy has come before the board for its approval. After a sometimes heated debate stretching for nearly an hour, the board tabled further discussion on the topic and asked Wrinn to come back to future board meeting to continue the review of the proposed policy.
Read MoreTwo Veteran Vermont State Police Troopers Suspended Amid Investigation Into Brattleboro Sexual Assault
December 5th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Two veteran Vermont State Police troopers are being investigated for allegations of sexual assault, state officials confirmed Tuesday.
The troopers have been put on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Vermont State Police Major John Filipek said the Brattleboro Police Department conducted an investigation into charges the pair, while off-duty, were involved in an alleged sexual assault in Brattleboro. Filipek said he didn’t have a date for the alleged assault.
Filipek refused to identify the troopers, and said they were on leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
“The Vermont State Police takes this matter seriously,” said Filipek. “It’s an open and ongoing investigation.”
Cindy Maguire, the chief of the criminal division of the Attorney General’s office, said she received the investigation report on Monday from the Brattleboro Police Department. The Windham County State’s Attorney’s office has cases pending from the two troopers, Maguire noted.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Create New Use Of Force Policy After Officers Lt. Charles Aleck, Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick, And Officer Michael Gorman’s Brutal Taser Weapon Attack On Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers In Vacant Lot
November 10th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — The new use of force policy for the Brattleboro Police Department should give more guidance to officers in resolving confrontations, both violent and nonviolent.
The department has been using the rewritten policy, not yet accepted by the Selectboard, since a task force assigned to update it presented it to police on Oct. 26. The task force was established after officers stunned a pair of protesters with Tasers on July 24 and after a report from an outside consultant discovered the department was suffering from low morale.
The pair, Jonathan Crowell and Samantha Kilmurray, had refused to leave a vacant lot where they were camping out to protest development on Putney Road. When police couldn’t convince them to unlock themselves from a cement-filled barrel, Crowell and Kilmurray were stunned and arrested. The pair has since announced they plan to sue the town for the action.
Read MoreFired Brattleboro Vermont Police Chief John Martin Claims Officers Lt. Charles Aleck, Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick, And Officer Michael Gorman Disobeyed Orders In Brutal Taser Weapon Attack On Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers In Vacant Lot
November 4th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT – The attorney for fired Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin said Friday that Brattleboro police officers disobeyed his orders when they Tasered two peaceful protesters last July.
Pietro Lynn, the Burlington lawyer representing Martin in his disciplinary case, said that Martin didn’t testify and didn’t defend himself during the recent confidential disciplinary hearing before the Brattleboro Select Board because they viewed the hearings as a “done deal.”
“It was not a fair and impartial hearing,” Lynn said. “John had no illusions. It was a political decision. The hearing was a sham and the decision is preposterous.”
Lynn noted that Martin had been evaluated by interim Town Manager Barbara Sondag in April and had received a positive review.
Lynn said that he and Martin were considering the next step in the disciplinary case, refusing to say whether Martin would contest his firing further.
Read MoreFired Brattleboro Vermont Police Officer Terry Parker Files Lawsuit - He And Officer Marshall Holbrook Shot And Killed A Man At Church, After Which A Lawsuit Was Settled With The Their Victim’s Family
October 31st, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — It’s been nearly six years since Robert “Woody” Woodward was shot and killed by a pair of Brattleboro police officers during a confrontation at All Souls Church in West Brattleboro.
Late last year, the family of Woodward settled a civil suit against the town for $150,000. Since then, the family has been dispensing the cash to various nonprofit organizations in New England such as the New England Youth Theater and the Northeastern Family Institute.
After the town settled the suit out of court, many people in town hoped it would bring closure to an issue that had threatened to tear Brattleboro in two.
But a recent civil suit against the town by one of the officers involved, Terry Parker, may mean town residents haven’t heard the last word on the Woodward tragedy.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont To Consider Firing Police Chief John Martin
October 19th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Town officials in Brattleboro will consider today whether to fire their police chief.
The town manager is recommending that the Selectboard fire Police Chief John Martin for failing to perform the duties of his position in an acceptable manner.
The Selectboard will meet this morning to take evidence from Town Manager Barbara Sondag and Martin and determine if just cause exists for his termination.
The move follows the recent release of a report by a consultant to the town that was sharply critical of the chief.
Shortly after the town received that report in late August, Martin placed himself on administrative leave. When he tried to return to work in mid-September, Sondag ordered that he remain on leave, and on Oct. 4, he was officially suspended with pay.
Town Manager Wants Suspended Brattleboro Vermont Police Chief John Martin To Hit The Road
October 16th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — The town manager is recommending that the Selectboard fire Police Chief John Martin “for failing to perform the duties of his position in an acceptable manner.”
Town Manager Barbara Sondag said the board had set a meeting for 8 a.m. Thursday to “take evidence from myself and John (Martin) and determine if just cause exists for his termination.”
It’s up to Martin and his lawyer, Pietro Lynn, to decide whether Thursday’s session should be public, Sondag said.
The move follows the recent release of a report by a consultant to the town that was sharply critical of the chief.
Shortly after the town received that report in late August, Martin placed himself on administrative leave. When he tried to return to work in mid-September, Sondag ordered that he remain on leave, and on Oct. 4, he was officially suspended with pay.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Chief John Martin Suspended, Town Claims It Has Nothing To Do WIth Department’s Taser Attack On Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers On Vacant Lot
September 2nd, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Chief John Martin placed himself on administrative leave Wednesday shortly after the town received a report that his police department had “low morale.”
Martin’s request followed a verbal report to the police department’s steering committee from Tad Dwyer, of Keene, N.H., an organization development consultant specializing in organizational strategic planning and culture change initiatives.
Acting Town Manager Barbara Sondag told the Reformer that Martin’s request had nothing to do with the use of Tasers on nonviolent protesters by Brattleboro police officers July 24 or the recent dismissal of grievance filed by former police officer Terry Parker.
She also refused to confirm or deny whether Martin’s request was a result of Dwyer’s report.
“Dwyer determined morale is very low,” said Sondag.
When contacted by the Reformer, Dwyer, who was hired by the town to evaluate morale in the police department said “I’m not commenting on anything.”
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Can Attack Peaceful Protesters With Taser Weapons, But There Is Little They Can Do As Public Nudity Ordinance Expires
August 22nd, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT - Vermont’s clothing-optional capital is stripping off its temporary ban on public nudity.
A month after passing the temporary ban, the Brattleboro Selectboard voted 3-2 on Tuesday to reject a proposed ordinance that would have made it permanent. When the emergency temporary ordinance expires next month, public nudity will no longer be illegal.
It’s all about tolerance, one board member said.
“We in this country are going down a slippery slope these days,” said Dora Bouboulis, noting a national newspaper recently published an article about the emergency ordinance under the headline “Tolerant town gets intolerant.”
She said it wasn’t up to the town to restrict anyone’s right to dress or undress.
Before the vote, residents weighed in on both sides of the debate.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Officers Use Of Violence And Taser Attack At Peaceful Protest Spurs Debate - Victim Planted Flowers On Vacant Lot
August 18th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Chained to a 55-gallon drum, protesting the potential development of a vacant lot, Jonathan Crowell wasn’t violent or threatening anyone. But he refused police orders to unshackle himself and leave, so they zapped him with a Taser until he did. Then they charged him with trespassing.
“It wasn’t just a short burst,” said Crowell, 32, of Dummerston, recalling the July 24 incident. “Five seconds is a long time to be electrocuted. My whole body was contorting and flapping around. You can’t think of anything else but that pain. It’s really scary. I felt like I was being tortured.”
Stun guns
Increasingly, police facing stubborn lawbreakers, belligerent drunks or violent suspects are reaching for stun guns, shocking them into submission. In one incident, a hospital security guard in Houston trying to stop a defiant father from taking home his newborn shot him with a Taser, sending both to the floor.
Read MoreYet Another Brattleboro Vermont Police Taser Incident Sparks Review By Attorney General’s Office (Who Will Of Course Do Nothing)
August 7th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Gov. Jim Douglas has asked the state Attorney General’s office to look into the use of an electronic Taser by Brattleboro police at the Brattleboro Retreat in early July.
Police were called to the Retreat on July 3 to help with an unruly juvenile and used a Taser to subdue him.
Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin said the boy was extremely violent and couldn’t be controlled. Martin said it was an appropriate use of the device.
Douglas sent a letter to Attorney General William Sorrell asking that he determine if it was.
The incident occurred before a July 24 incident in which Brattleboro police used a Taser on two protesters who refused police orders to move from a spot where they were demonstrating.
The Town of Brattleboro has ordered that use of Tasers be put on hold pending a review of their acceptable use policy.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Residents Stunned by Police Officers Brutal Taser Weapon Attack On Peaceful Protesters
August 1st, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Maybe it was the chili peppers they were planting, or just the hot, humid weather that sent tempers flaring. Either way, Brattleboro Police brought down the heat last week on two protesters who were illegally gardening on private property and refused to obey a police order to leave. Now the heat is on the cops for allegedly using electronic stun guns repeatedly on the green-thumbed guerillas, in an effort to force them to unchain themselves from a barrel.
Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin told Seven Days last week that he has launched an internal investigation to determine whether the officers’ use of Tasers on two unarmed and nonviolent protesters was appropriate and consistent with the department’s use-of-force policies. Martin declined further comment on the specifics of the case. On Saturday, the town selectboard ordered the police department to stop using Tasers until stun-gun policies and procedures can be reviewed.
Read MoreTown Takes Taser Weapons Away From Brattleboro Vermont Police Following Violent Attacks On Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers On Vacant Lot
July 30th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT –After police stunned two protesters with Tasers, the town has suspended the use of the stun guns while it reviews police policy.
The decision came at an executive session of the Selectboard Friday night.
On Tuesday two people protesting possible plans to build a gas station on a vacant lot were hit with Tasers and arrested for trespassing after chaining themselves to a barrel and refusing to leave.
The town is investigating the incident.
“It’s safe to say the board is on top of it all,” said Selectboard Chairwoman Audrey Garfield.
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Policemen in Brattleboro have been directed not to use their Tasers until the town can review its policy on their use.
After an executive session Friday night, the Selectboard directed acting Town Manager Barbara Sondag to tell the police department to “suspend the use of Tasers until the town has had an opportunity to review the policy,” according to Selectboard Chairwoman Audrey Garfield, who said no vote was taken.
The decision came just three days after Brattleboro police officers used their Tasers on Jonathan “Slug” Crowell and Samantha Kilmurray after they refused to leave private property at the corner of Black Mountain and Putney roads while protesting fossile fuel culture and development in Vermont.
Garfield said she thought members of the police department were informed Saturday of the decision to suspend Taser use.
Garfield was careful to draw the distinction between the board’s decision Friday and the town’s review of the specifics of Tuesday’s Taser incident.
“This is separate from an investigation of the event,” Garfield said.
That investigation is ongoing. “It’s safe to say the board is on top of it all,”
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said Garfield, who declined to comment further.
Crowell and Kilmurray were part of a group that planted flowers and created rock sculptures on one of the last remaining open spaces in the heavily developed north end of Brattleboro at the intersection of Putney Road and Black Mountain Road.
The incident has touched off considerable debate and numerous letters to the Reformer, expressing both dismay that Brattleboro police used Tasers on the protesters and support for the officers’ actions.
Read MoreACLU Raps Brattleboro Vermont Police After Police Officers Resort To Violence And Taser Weapons Against Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers On Vacant Lot
July 27th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — The director of the Vermont Civil Liberties Union said a pair of protesters who were stunned with Tasers Tuesday morning should get legal counsel.
“They should talk to an attorney who can help them evaluate exactly what happened,” said Allen Gilbert.
It wouldn’t be the first time a Vermont law enforcement agency was sued by a person a Taser was used on, said Gilbert.
In St. Johnsbury, two men were awarded $10,000 last year after they accused police of using excessive force in subduing them. While the town agreed to the settlement, it admitted to no wrongdoing on its police department’s part. Charges against the pair, neither of whom had a criminal record, were later dismissed.
And in Orange County, a public defender is representing a man who was stunned with a Taser while he was experiencing an epileptic seizure.
Read MoreRescue Volunteer Suspended For Speaking Out In Uniform After Brattleboro Vermont Police Use Violence And Taser Weapons Against Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers In Vacant Lot
July 27th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT - A volunteer emergency medical technician who spoke out at Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting against police use of Tasers on nonviolent protesters was suspended pending an investigation, said David Dunn, executive director of the emergency ambulance service.
Raven Burchard, who has been a volunteer with Rescue Inc. for the last three years, had gone to the Selectboard meeting to complain about the way Brattleboro Police had handled the incident.
Jonathan “Slug” Crowell and Samantha Kilmurray were part of a small group of people that “occupied” a vacant lot on Putney Road Monday, planting shrubs, flowers and even a tree.
During the meeting, Burchard said Brattleboro police officers indicated Monday that they did not plan on arresting Crowell and Kilmurray. “My general impression was that there would be no arrest. ‘Stay as long as you want,’” said Burchard.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Officers Blasted For Use Of Violence And Taser Weapons Against Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers On Empty Lot
July 26th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Is it appropriate to use a Taser on non-violent protesters?
That’s the question that many people in Windham County are asking after a pair of volunteer gardeners who were trespassing on private property were stunned by police Tasers after they refused to leave.
The two, Jonathan “Slug” Crowell and Samantha Kilmurray, of Dummerston, were part of a small group of people who “occupied” a vacant lot on Putney Road where King’s Bowling Center used to stand, planting shrubs, flowers and even a tree.
VIDEO: Protesters arrested; police use stun gun
The property is owned by Jim Robertson and his family, who also own Cheshire Oil and the Citgo gas station near the roundabout on Putney Road.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Chief John Martin, Who Was Involved In Shooting And Killing At Church, To Investigate Officers Brutal Taser Weapon Attack On Peaceful Protesters Who Planted Flowers
July 26th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin said Wednesday he had launched an internal investigation of Tuesday’s use of an electric stun gun on two nonviolent protesters during their arrest for trespassing.
Martin said he is conducting the investigation himself along with his two supervising captains, Capt. Eugene Wrinn and Capt. Steven Rowell.
“I can’t comment on anything that happened. It would be premature and inappropriate to discuss it,” Martin said Wednesday evening.
Wrinn said late Wednesday afternoon that Martin was discussing the situation with acting Town Manager Barbara Sondag.
“It’s still under investigation,” said Wrinn, who was the supervisor at the scene of the incident.
Jonathan Crowell, 32, and his girlfriend, Samantha Kilmurray, 32, both of West Dummerston, had chained themselves to a barrel filled with dirt and cement and had refused to leave the vacant lot, where they had planted dozens of flowers and vegetables as a protest.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Use Violence And Taser Weapons Against Peaceful Protesters In Vacant Lot
July 25th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Police used Tasers on and arrested two protesters for trespassing Tuesday morning on a vacant lot that they say is about to be turned into a truck stop.
The protesters are Jonathan Crowell and Samantha KilMurray, both 32 and residents of West Dummerston.
According to fellow protester Janisse Ray of Brattleboro, Crowell and KilMurray had chained themselves to a barrel to protest plans by Cheshire Oil for the parcel on Putney Road.
They also planted flowers, vegetables and herbs, as well as several small trees.
The land used to house the former King’s Bowling Center, a knitting shop and a private home. The bowling alley and knitting shop were demolished earlier this summer, fueling speculation in town that something was about to happen to the now-vacant lot.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Officers Lt. Charles Aleck, Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick, And Officer Michael Gorman Use Violence And Taser Weapons Against Peaceful Protesters In Vacant Lot - Video
July 25th, 2007
Brattleboro Vermont Police Department’s Illegal Wiretap Of Lawyer’s Phone Ruled Improper In Court
April 28th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT – A police sting on a defense lawyer — an operation that worried colleagues statewide about law-enforcement interference in their jobs — should have been neither proposed nor approved, a judge has ruled.
Karen Carroll, the presiding judge at the state courthouse in Brattleboro, ordered police and prosecutors to give lawyer Eileen Hongisto all copies of a tape-recorded conversation between her and an undercover detective who was posing as a witness against one of the attorney’s clients.
Carroll said in her six-page opinion that police presented another judge in the same courthouse, Katherine Hayes, with insufficient evidence to approve the January sting, and therefore the proposed operation should have been denied.
“A review of the affidavit in support of the search warrant in this matter reveals that it lacked the necessary probable cause to support the belief that Ms. Hongisto was involved in criminal activity or that evidence of a crime would be obtained through a phone call to her by an undercover police officer,” Carroll wrote.
Read MoreCrazed Brattleboro Vermont Judge Katherine Hayes Steps Down In Case In Which She Allowed Police To Intercept Attorney Conversations
March 23rd, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT – A state judge has stepped down from handling a case in which she allowed police to record phone conversations with a defense lawyer to determine whether she was obstructing an investigation.
Katherine Hayes, who presides at Vermont District Court in Brattleboro, withdrew from the matter after the lawyer filed court papers last week demanding the judge step aside. Hayes did not explain her reasons for granting the request.
The lawyer, Eileen Hongisto, argued in court papers that Hayes should be removed from the case because her impartiality and legal competence were in doubt.
“Judge Hayes has an interest in ruling favorably on her own prior decisions,” wrote Hongisto’s attorney, David Sleigh of St. Johnsbury.
Hongisto is challenging a police search, and the judge’s approval of the warrant, that arose from a domestic-assault case in which she represented the suspect.
Read MoreVeteran Brattleboro Vermont Police Officer Terrence Parker Fired, But Town And Officer Keep Details Secret From Public - Officer Was Involved In The Killing Of Suicidal Man In A Chruch 5 Years Ago
March 2nd, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT - A police officer involved in the fatal shooting of a Connecticut native at a church five years ago has been dismissed from the force, but neither he nor town officials are saying why.
Officer Terrence Parker spent 19 years with the police department.
“I was fired,” Parker told the Brattleboro Reformer, declining further comment.
“He is no longer with us,” said Assistant Town Manager Barbara Sondag. Personnel records are private, she said.
Neither members of the Select Board nor Police Chief John Martin would comment on the dismissal.
Martin reprimanded Parker recently, but he would not disclose the reason.
Parker, a former chief of the Vernon Fire Department, was admonished along with several other firefighters who were involved in an all-day “shooting event” at a gravel pit last July. The Vernon Select Board conducted an inquiry into the incident, in which a group of off-duty firefighters and friends reportedly shot guns, semiautomatic weapons and a cannon.
Read MoreLying Brattleboro Vermont Police Detective Mark Carignan’s Attempt To Entrap Attorney In Failed Sting Draws Protests
February 25th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT –Longtime lawyer Eileen Hongisto didn’t take the bait when the police officer lied about who he was, but the attempted sting is drawing protests from her fellow attorneys nonetheless.
Court papers say Brattleboro Police Detective Mark Carignan, executing a court-approved warrant, called Hongisto earlier this month and pretended to be a witness in a domestic violence case in which Hongisto was representing the defendant.
Saying he wanted to help Hongisto’s client, he asked whether he should try to avoid police efforts to serve him a subpoena to come and testify in court or whether, if served with a subpoena, he should fail to show up in court.
Court papers say police thought Hongisto might commit the crime of obstruction of justice by advising the phony witness to take those steps. The sting failed when Hongisto told the caller she wasn’t his lawyer and that if he got a subpoena he would need to go to court.
Read MoreBrattleboro Vermont Police Detective Mark Carignan Attempts To Entrap Local Attorney, Calling It A “Sting”
February 25th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT - The man on the phone, court documents would reveal later, was an undercover police detective, but the defense lawyer had no way of knowing that then.
The officer, acting earlier this month on a wiretap warrant, pretended to be a witness for whom authorities were searching in a domestic-assault case; the lawyer was representing the suspect. The investigator asked whether he should duck police attempts to serve him with a subpoena, or, if agents found him, whether he should violate the order and skip the court date. After all, wouldn’t that help the lawyer’s client?
Police suspected the longtime Windham County lawyer, Eileen Hongisto, might say yes — even though that answer would constitute obstruction of justice, according to court papers. Hongisto did not, her own lawyer said, and now the incident is generating outrage and consternation among defense attorneys statewide.
Read MoreFormer Vermont State Trooper David Lay, Originally Charged With First Degree Attempted Murder Of Ex-Girlfriend, Receives A Tiny Slap On The Wrist After Pleading Guilty To Misdemeanors
January 5th, 2007
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — Charges against a former Vermont state trooper accused of trying to destroy evidence and assaulting his ex-girlfriend were dismissed Wednesday after he agreed to plead guilty to four misdemeanors.
According to documents filed in Windham District Court, David Lay, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of violation of a protective order and two counts of violating the conditions of his release.
As part of his plea agreement, Lay must perform 140 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $1,484 in fines.
Lay was originally charged with two counts of obstruction of justice after he was accused of asking a fellow trooper to destroy evidence in 2005. Later that year, in October, he was charged with aggravated domestic assault, unlawful restraint, sexual assault and domestic assault after his alleged victim’s mother filed an abuse complaint with police.
Read MoreMan Plans To Sue Bellows Falls Vermont Police For Excessive Force In Taser Weapon Attack During His Arrest On Bogus Charges
August 15th, 2006
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT — A man who was found not guilty of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest may file a civil suit against the Bellows Falls Police Department.
Police Chief Keith Clark acknowledged receipt of a letter from local attorney Gwen Harris informing him of her client’s possible intentions. He said he had forwarded the letter to the village’s attorney, and had no other comment.
Harris told the Reformer on Friday it was evident to her that excessive force had been used against her client, 31-year-old Corey Hudgins, who was stunned twice with a Taser during his arrest on Sept. 15, 2005.
Because he was found not guilty, said Harris, it “means he didn’t engage in the activity that police arrested him for.”
Therefore, she said, police had no right arresting the Bellows Falls man and used excessive force in doing so.
Police responded to Church Place in Bellows Falls for reports of a family fight where they encountered Hudgins, who, by his own admission in court, was upset, both with his wife and with police.
Pulling A Fast One: Weeks After Conviction And Slap On The Wrist For Embezzling Money From Department, Former Windham County Vermont Sheriff Lesbian Sheila Prue Files To Have Court Erase Her Felony Conviction
July 22nd, 2006
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT - Former Windham County Sheriff Sheila Prue is asking a district court judge to erase her felony conviction from her record now that she has repaid the final $26,000 that she embezzled from the department.
Prue, who resigned from her position and pleaded guilty to criminal charges last month, has asked Brattleboro District Court Judge Katherine Hayes to expunge the felony embezzlement charge from her record, according to a court filing on July 17.
Roderick Bates, the supervisor of the Vermont Department of Corrections office in Brattleboro, notes in the court filing that Prue has “satisfactorily” complied with conditions of her probation. Hayes is expected to make a decision on the discharge petition within two weeks.
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