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Smith: A flawed policy at Public Safety Department
(Mike Smith is a regular columnist for VTDigger. He hosts the radio program “Open Mike with Mike Smith” on WDEV 550 AM and 96.1, 96.5, 98.3 and 101.9 FM and is a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT...
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Trooper cleared of wrongdoing in gunpoint stop of rabbi and family
Tom Anderson, the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger The head of the state Department of Public Safety and an advisory panel say a trooper has been...
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UPDATED: NY rabbi fighting charge of trying to elude police
Rabbi Berl Fink, center, listens to his attorney Robert Appel in Orange County Superior Court in Chelsea on Wednesday. Fink pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to elude police during an August...
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Prosecutors clear troopers in fatal shooting of man pointing BB gun
Rutland County State’s Attorney Rose Kennedy and Col. Matthew Birmingham of the Vermont State Police speak at a news conference Tuesday regarding a fatal shooting in Poultney by police. Photo by Alan...
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Panel backs saliva testing to screen for driver marijuana impairment
Tom Anderson, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger A commission empaneled by the governor to advise him on issues related to marijuana legalization is...
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Police push saliva test for drugged drivers; ACLU threatens to sue
Tom Anderson, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDiggerVermont’s public safety commissioner told lawmakers that legislation allowing police to use saliva...
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Commissioner says probe into alleged China arrest turned up nothing
Tom Anderson, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Safety. File photo by Anne Galloway/VTDigger The Vermont Department of Public Safety in 2014 conducted an internal investigation into an...
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UPDATED: State worker killed by ex-boyfriend in Barre City
Courtney Gaboriault, 29, a Vermont Department of Public Safety employee, was killed Wednesday in Barre by a former boyfriend, police say. Courtesy photo BARRE CITY — The killing was over in minutes. At...
View ArticleTwo young boys perish in North Hero fire
Updated as of 5:30 p.m. Saturday, October 19. Two young boys died in a fire at a single-family home in North Hero early Saturday morning, according to the Vermont State Police. The parents, Desiree...
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Key senator says public records ‘inspections’ should include preparation fees
Sen. Jeanette White, chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee, says it is appropriate to charge for staff time for preparing documents requested by the public. Photo by Mike...
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Senate passes first police reform measure tacked onto budget amendment
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senate Pro Tem Tim Ashe introduced the proposal to embed mental health professionals into state police units. Photo...
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House approves measures on police use of force and training protocols
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson speaks on the Statehouse lawn in Montpelier on Aug. 24. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger The Vermont House passed reform legislation Tuesday that sets guidelines for when...
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Vermonters flock to the outdoors during pandemic, keeping Search and Rescue...
Waterbury Center State Park on Waterbury Reservoir in early September 2020. Photo by Cate Chant/VTDigger Packed parking lots, litter and crowding on trails, more accidents in the backcountry,...
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As cases surge, Vermont National Guard hurries to rebuild field hospital
Soldiers and airmen from the Vermont National Guard construct a 200-bed Alternate Healthcare Facility at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction on Thursday. The facility will offer overflow...
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Panel: Troopers discriminated against Clemmons Family Farm director
A photo of the Barn House at the Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte. Photo via Human Rights Commission report Updated at 8:50 p.m. A state commission has found that the Vermont State Police and the...
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Glimpse into state police discipline reveals termination, resignations and...
Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police A Vermont State Police trooper harassed another trooper. Another trooper accidentally discharged a firearm while training. A trooper got so drunk off-duty “that...
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Phil Scott names Jennifer Morrison to lead the Department of Public Safety,...
Commissioner of Public Safety Jennifer Morrison. Courtesy of the Vermont Department of Public Safety. Updated at 5:51 p.m. Gov. Phil Scott has appointed Jennifer Morrison to lead the Vermont...
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Public safety department plans to launch statewide crime ‘heat map’ dashboard
The state Department of Public Safety is poised to launch a public dashboard including a sort of heat map identifying communities with the highest volume of police calls. Image courtesy of the Vermont...
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Vermont state officials want to strengthen school safety procedures
Dan French, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Education, speaks during a press conference on Sept. 8, 2021. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger State officials are asking lawmakers to pass...
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Police chief says border patrol is dropping immigrant families at St....
U.S. Customs and Border Protection have begun transporting immigrants to the St. Johnsbury Welcome Center without plans or supplies. File photo by Justin Trombly/VTDigger Overwhelmed by border...
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State and local volunteers scramble to deal with increased crossings at the...
Libby Hillhouse, president of the Northeast Kingdom Asylum Seekers Assistance Network, admires painted signs welcoming asylum seekers at her home on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. Photo by Ethan...
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Police say state employee embezzled $75,000 in state funds
A state employee allegedly crafted an elaborate check-cashing scheme and embezzled at least $75,000 from the state, Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Friday. State police Friday arrested Office of Risk...
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Some may be kept in dark on future of public safety telecom
The Vermont State Police barracks in Westminster includes an expanded emergency dispatch area that handles 5,000 to 6,000 southern Vermont 911 calls monthly. File photo by Randolph T. Holhut/The...
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Hartford among sites eyed for medical marijuana dispensary
Marijuana plants at a growing operation. File photo by Andrew Kutches/VTDigger (This story is by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling of the Valley News, in which it first appeared July 29, 2017.) [W]HITE RIVER...
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Marijuana dispensary proposed for Rockwell museum site
A proposal would bring a medical marijuana dispensary to the site now housing the Norman Rockwell Museum of Vermont in Rutland Town. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDigger [R]UTLAND TOWN — The site of a...
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Bennington area eyed for medical marijuana facility
[B]ENNINGTON — There are apparently at least two applicants for a medical marijuana dispensary license that want to base a facility in the Bennington area. The Vermont Medical Marijuana Registry...
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Police increase patrols, stress safety after rash of fatal crashes
Public Safety Commissioner Thomas D. Anderson speaks at a news conference Tuesday about a recent spate of traffic deaths. Photo by Cyrus Ready-Campbell/VTDigger [P]olice plan to put more cruisers on...
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‘We knew this storm was going to be bad’: Rescue teams faced days of...
Members of Rescue Inc. Technical Rescue’s swift water team check on the residents of a home in Londonderry as flood waters continue to rise on July 10. Courtesy photo This story by Fran Lynggaard...
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Sanders, Welch, Balint announce $75 million in earmarks for Vermont
From left: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Becca Balint and Sen. Peter Welch. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDigger BURLINGTON — Vermont’s congressional delegation drew down about $75 million in earmarks for...
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Latest report on Vermont State Police trooper discipline dominated by vehicle...
Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police Failing to follow the Vermont State Police’s vehicle pursuit policy led to disciplinary action against five troopers during the first six months of 2023,...
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