There’s been a spate of controversies and alleged misconduct among Vermont county sheriffs in the past year. The sitting sheriff in Addison County was charged with sexual assault and refused to resign, the Bennington County Sheriff appeared to be living out of state, and in Caledonia County the sheriff gave questionable bonuses to himself and his employees.
The string of concerning incidents has spurred lawmakers to debate adding more oversight to Vermont’s 14 independently elected sheriffs.
More from Vermont Public: Candidate facing assault charge wins Franklin County sheriff race
On Monday afternoon in Franklin County Superior Court, Judge Martin Maley moved through the docket. It was fairly routine — mostly checking on status of cases. Then Judge Maley reached an unusual pending simple assault case: State of Vermont vs. John Grismore.
“I've reached out to our chief administrative judge to ask for some guidance as to what we might want to do here in Franklin County, with regards to holding any hearings for Mr. Grismore, who's our soon-to-be-elected-, as I understand it, newly-elected sheriff,” Maley said during the hearing.
Grismore won the Democratic and Republican nomination for Franklin County Sheriff last summer. Shortly after his victory, a video was released showing Grismore, a former deputy in the sheriff’s department, kicking a handcuffed and shackled man. He was fired, and charged with simple assault. But Grismore still managed to win the sheriff’s office in November, beating back two write-in challenges.
“Our courts are staffed by deputies, who are overseen by the sheriff. And I guess that at least that presents the possible appearance of a conflict of interest, which I think we should try to avoid.”Judge Martin Maley, Franklin County Superior Court
The sheriff has pleaded not guilty. During Monday’s hearing, Judge Maley suggested moving Grismore’s pending case to another county.
“Our courts are staffed by deputies, who are overseen by the sheriff,” Maley said. “And I guess that at least that presents the possible appearance of a conflict of interest, which I think we should try to avoid.”
Grand Isle State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito, who brought the case, told the court the state was concerned that three of their witnesses would soon become Grismore’s employees.
“We just want to make it very clear on the record that Mr. Grismore should not be speaking to those witnesses about this case at all,” DiSabito said during the hearing.
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State police also confirmed last week they were investigating Grismore and the sheriff’s department after the state auditor flagged some financial issues. But there’s nothing in Vermont law that prevents a person with a pending criminal charge or investigation from becoming sheriff, and on Wednesday, Grismore was sworn in as sheriff.
Some lawmakers think that needs to change, like Rep. Michael McCarthy, a Democrat from Franklin County.
On Wednesday MCarthy led a hearing on the role of independently elected sheriffs and possible reforms.
“I'd ask all of us to consider if we need more accountability, professional qualifications, and basic transparency, so that we are not so reliant on and subjected to the personal character of whoever happens to be elected sheriff every four years," McCarthy said.
“I'm very dismayed as to what's occurred in the state. What the sheriffs need is structure. They need to be accountable, and we need a mechanism to constantly have that oversight.”Roger Marcoux, Lamoille County Sheriff
Law enforcement officials typically bristle at proposals to add oversight. And sheriffs, who are independently elected and answer only to voters, have long enjoyed near total autonomy. But in these early stages, some sheriffs appear open to submitting to some form of outside supervision.
Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux told lawmakers Wednesday that reforms are needed.
“I'm very dismayed as to what's occurred in the state,” Marcoux said. “What the sheriffs need is structure. They need to be accountable, and we need a mechanism to constantly have that oversight.”
But even if sheriffs are on board, adding oversight will be difficult. Sheriffs are elected officials whose powers are spelled out in the Vermont Constitution. Legislative counsel Tim Devlin told lawmakers that short of a constitutional amendment, reforms are limited.
“Put simply, the Constitution controls the qualifications for sheriffs, and how they enter and exit into office,” Devlin said on Wednesday.
A constitutional amendment could be on the horizon. Lawmakers in the Vermont Senate recently introduced a proposalthat would allow the Legislature to set qualifications for sheriffs. The process of amending the state constitution takes years. The proposed amendment wouldn’t take effect until 2026 — if the process stays on track.
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