Vermont State Police cited St. Johnsbury police Sgt. George Johnson for aggravated assault on Wednesday after an investigation found Johnson allegedly used excessive force against a 35-year-old man he initially stopped for jaywalking.
Johnson, 44, of Lunenburg, will be arraigned on the felony assault charge on Sept. 9 in Caledonia County criminal court. He’s been on paid administrative leave since May 16, according to the Caledonian Record.
St. Johnsbury police chief Joel Pierce and town manager Chad Whitehead did not respond to requests for comment.
The criminal charge stems from an incident on May 10 when Johnson stopped John Stelzl after Stelzl crossed the street without using a crosswalk. Johnson, in a police affidavit filed in support of charges against Stelzl, said Stelzl was in an area where people were known to use drugs. Johnson got out of his cruiser, and chased down Stelzl, who ran away, according to the affidavit.
Johnson caught up to Stelzl and during the ensuing physical altercation used pepper spray, a taser, and hit Stelzl in the back of the head and back, according to Johnson in his affidavit. Johnson also alleged that Stelzl at one point during the fight wrestled the taser away from him and hit Johnson in the leg with it, the affidavit says.
Stelzl was taken to the hospital and treated for “significant” injuries from the incident, according to state police.
Stelzl was initially charged with simple assault on a protected professional and disorderly conduct for his alleged actions during the incident, but three days after the arraignment Caledonia County state’s attorney Jessica Zaleski dropped the charges following her review of body camera footage of the altercation. Zaleski raised concerns about the use of force with Pierce, the St. Johnsbury police chief, who referred the incident to state police for an independent investigation.
According to a state police press release, their investigation found that Johnson lacked sufficient cause to stop Stelzl and that he used excessive force during the altercation.
Zaleski recused herself from the case, and asked Grand Isle County state’s attorney Doug DiSabito to review it. An affidavit of probable cause with more details will be filed with the court after Johnson’s arraignment in September.
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