Friday, March 1, 2019
Ralph Moore of Brooklyn, N.Y., spent more than eight months in jail on charges that a Vermont judge eventually ruled stemmed from an unlawful search, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
The suit alleges unlawful search and seizure and a violation of equal protection rights by Officer Victor Bitca, former police chief Jennifer Morrison and the Town of Colchester.
Tags: Colchester , Colchester police , Victor Bitca , Ralph Moore , racial bias , traffic stops , Stephanie Seguino , Nancy Brooks , Robin Joy , Crime Research Group , Shamel Alexander , Bennington , Bennington police , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos is siding with a man who sued the Burlington Police Department over the hundreds of dollars it wanted to charge him to view an officer's body camera footage.
The state's primary public records custodian filed an amicus brief with the Vermont Supreme Court last week asserting that public records should be free for members of the public to inspect. A lower court ruling in favor of the police department "serves to cloud the transparencies in Vermont government" well beyond police video, Condos wrote.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont sued the department last year on behalf of Reed Doyle, a Burlington man who claimed to have witnessed a Queen City officer use excessive force against young teens in Roosevelt Park in 2017. Doyle sought a court order requiring the department to allow him to view body camera footage from the incident without charge.
Tags: Burlington , police , ACLU of Vermont , Jim Condos , Secretary of State , Brandon del Pozo , Reed Doyle , Image , Web Only
Monday, January 14, 2019
Several days later, on October 7, the Vermont woman died at a Massachusetts hospital. She'd battled drug addiction for years.
A poignant obituary for Linsenmeir, written by her sister Kate O'Neill, went viral. O'Neill wrote that the family hoped her sister's story would help others let go of the stigma related to addiction. (After it ran, Seven Days hired O'Neill for a special reporting project on the ongoing opiate crisis.)
Linsenmeir's family members are also looking for answers about their loved one's final days. The family, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, sued the Springfield PD in November, seeking video and other information related to her arrest.
Tags: ACLU , Madelyn Linsenmeir , Massachusetts , opiates , Springfield Police Department , Vermont , Video , Image , Web Only
A self-proclaimed white nationalist accused of harassing former state representative Kiah Morris strode into the Congregation Beth El synagogue in Bennington during a press conference held Monday to announce the findings of a state probe into alleged racist acts against the ex-lawmaker.
Morris, a Bennington Democrat who is African American, cited years of racial harassment when she resigned from her position last fall before the end of her term.
The press conference went off the rails when Bennington resident Max Misch entered the room as Morris answered a television reporter's question about the AG's probe. Misch had been subject to a yearlong protective order in 2016 prohibiting him from contacting Morris over a series of racist tweets, messages and online comments he aimed at her.
Tags: Kiah Morris , Max Misch , T.J. Donovan , Pepe the Frog , Kevin Hoyt , Image , Web Only
Friday, January 11, 2019
VTDigger.org reported Monday that an investigation by the Burlington Police Department found that Officer Erin Bartle and two others sustained injuries such as concussions and hearing loss during an academy drill known as the “hitchhiker scenario.” A fourth officer was knocked unconscious. During the drill, instructors punched recruits in the head without warning. Bartle is suing the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council, which oversees the academy.
Since news of the lawsuit broke, O’Neill said, at least three more law enforcement officials have come forward. Washington County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Poulin, 44, is one of them.
Poulin gave Seven Days the following account of what happened to him: He has a history of concussions and traumatic brain injuries, so he warned instructors before a training at the Washington County Sheriff's Office that a hit to the head could end his career. The instructors were certified by the Vermont Police Academy as use-of-force trainers.
Tags: Hitchhiker scenario , Brandon del Pozo , Vermont Police Academy , Image , Web Only
Monday, January 7, 2019
One inmate was discovered without a pulse, but both survived. Corrections Commissioner Mike Touchette said the drug they ingested was likely K2 or Spice — synthetic cannabinoids.
Corrections officials said both inmates were given the overdose-reversal drug Narcan. The department acknowledged that Narcan doesn’t have an effect in reversing a non-opiate overdose, but it’s policy to administer the drug whenever an inmate is found unresponsive with no apparent injuries.
Two other Vermont inmates have overdosed during the past six months or so. Staff quickly used Narcan to reverse those overdoses.
Tags: cannabinoid , corrections , drugs , inmate , K2 , Mike Touchette , Narcan , Northwest State Correctional Facility , opiates , Opioid Crisis , prison , Spice , synthetic , Vermont Department of Corrections , Image , Web Only
Friday, January 4, 2019
The Vermont ACLU, which represented motorist Gregory Zullo, said in a press release that the ruling was a victory for all Vermonters, and especially Vermonters of color such as Zullo.
"Police have had enormous discretion to stop and search motorists, including for erroneous or pretextual reasons and on the basis of implicit or explicit bias," said Lia Ernst, the ACLU attorney who argued the case. "In ruling that police can be liable for such acts, this decision sends a clear message — no one is above the law, and if police make bad stops, they can and will be held accountable.”
Tags: Vermont Supreme Court , Lewis Hatch , Gregory Zullo , Vermont ACLU , Lia Ernst , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
But unlike Santa Claus, Jackie Walters wasn't making deliveries. The 33-year-old Burlington resident was allegedly stealing packages from homes in the city's Old North End and Hill Sections. The 11-year-old child Walters brought along was an "unwitting accomplice," according to police.
“The man had been seen roaming the city overnight, allegedly removing whatever packages he could find,” Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo wrote in a press release after Walters was arrested Tuesday morning.
Tags: Jackie Walters , Brandon del Pozo , Burlington , package , theft , steal , bicycle , bike , Christmas , holiday , presents , gifts , Image , Web Only
Friday, December 14, 2018
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George told Seven Days via email Friday that Maier’s case was referred to the Burlington Community Justice Center.
"CJC referrals are pre-charge, so he’s not officially 'charged,'" George wrote, "but we didn’t decline to prosecute it either. If [Maier] completes CJC then he won’t have to appear in court. If he does not, he will be officially 'charged' and have to appear in court."
Maier, who performed with the recently disbanded psych-pop quintet Madaila, was arrested December 5, more than a month after he allegedly used a chemical solution to destroy parts of the mural depicting Caucasian people’s faces. Margaux Higgins of Burlington was arrested November 7 on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime.
Tags: Eric Maier , Sarah George , Brandon del Pozo , Church Street , vandalism , mural , Madaila , Rapid Intervention Community Court , diversion , crime , Image , Web Only
Thursday, December 13, 2018
It was the beginning of six months behind bars for Vo, a Vietnamese citizen who has lived legally in the U.S. with a green card since 1999, when he was 6. He got out in March on supervised release. But officials have since told him that he must wear a GPS tracking device until he's deported to Vietnam in February because of a 2016 conviction for marijuana possession.
Along with his fiancée, Desiree Mora, and close friends, Vo is trying to raise money and publicity to fight the government’s decision.
“My whole immediate family is over here. Everybody,” Vo said in an interview. “I’ve been here for 20 years. I’ve made my mistakes, but I’ve never blamed anybody for my mistakes.”
Tags: Cannabeat , Thao Vo , Immigration and Customs Enforcement , Vietnam , immigration , deportation , ICE , marijuana , Illinois , cannabis , Vermont , Burlington , Image , Web Only