Vermont police charge sheriff candidate with kicking prisoner

A fired Vermont deputy who’s the one candidate on the November poll to grow to be sheriff of the county the place he served was charged Friday with easy assault for kicking a shackled prisoner, authorities mentioned.

John Grismore, 49, of Fairfax was cited on the cost Friday by way of his legal professional. He’s due in courtroom Monday in St. Albans to reply the cost, mentioned Vermont State Police in a information launch.

Surveillance cameras recorded the prisoner being kicked on Aug. 7. Within the Aug. 9 major, Grismore gained the nomination of each Franklin County’s Republican and Democratic events to have his identify on the November poll for sheriff. However after the video grew to become public he was suspended after which fired by outgoing Franklin County Sheriff Roger Langevin.

The county Republican and Democratic events gave their assist to a write-in marketing campaign by Sheriff’s division Lt. Mark Lauer, a 27-year Vermont State Police veteran who has been on the division for practically a decade. Gale Messier can also be working a write-in marketing campaign. He spent many years in regulation enforcement together with 20 years on the sheriff’s division in Chittenden County, Vermont’s most populous county.

On Friday Grismore mentioned in an e mail that “the story remains to be the identical” and he had nothing new so as to add.

However in a subsequent message, Grismore mentioned he was “shocked and dismayed” the outcomes of the state police investigation had been referred for prosecution as misdemeanor easy assault. He mentioned he continued to take care of he used the minimal quantity of power mandatory to forestall the prisoner from spitting on him and the opposite deputies, he mentioned.

“Though this newest step is unlucky, I stay up for the chance to definitively, as soon as and for all, clear my identify,” Grismore mentioned. “I totally imagine in our legal justice system, having served inside it for the higher a part of 25 years, and I’m assured that when all of the details are uncovered, I will likely be promptly and fully vindicated”

Early voting is nicely underway in Vermont, with mail-in ballots already distributed.

Messier mentioned Friday that the the cost was a superb factor.

“You’ll be able to’t be a bully, you’re a police officer,” Messier mentioned.

Lauer mentioned Friday he had no remark.

The Vermont Division of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs has mentioned that if Grismore wins and takes workplace the one mechanism to take away him can be impeachment by the Legislature.