by Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison I need to set the record straight regarding recent reporting about the Vermont State Police that contains significant inaccuracies and omissions, and to ensure the public fully understands the complete time line of recent events.
At 10:06 a.m. Monday, Feb. 6, Vermont State Sen. Nader Hashim received an email from a third party who provided information from an anonymous source that a group of unnamed Vermont State Police troopers had used racist, misogynistic and otherwise offensive language while playing an online game when they were off duty.
At 10:29 a.m., Sen. Hashim forwarded the email to Sgt. Ryan Wood at the Westminster Barracks.
At 10:43 a.m., Sgt. Wood forwarded the email to the barracks commander, Lt. Anthony French.
At 11:07 a.m., Lt. French forwarded the email to Lt. Robert McKenna, the director of the Office of Internal Affairs. Lt. McKenna reviewed the information and presented it to me. Because the original author of the email was a third party who was relaying an anonymous complaint about the possible activity of troopers whose identities were not disclosed, the determination was made that there was insufficient information to open a formal Internal Affairs investigation. The decision that there was currently insufficient evidence to proceed in no way precluded the submission of additional information to the Office of Internal Affairs. I directed Lt. McKenna to reply and also try to obtain additional information.
At 1:03 p.m., Lt. McKenna emailed Sen. Hashim and the third party to advise them of my determination, but also to ensure they were aware that more detail could be provided at any time.
“If there is additional information that can be shared, I would strongly encourage it to be brought to our attention,” Lt. McKenna wrote. “If additional information becomes available, it will be brought to the commissioner’s attention so she can revisit this matter.”
During the next 24 hours, Lt. McKenna received additional information related to this situation via email and phone calls. A meeting was scheduled for Wednesday to present this information to me. Due to the numerous hoax threat calls affecting Vermont schools Wednesday morning, my meeting with Lt. McKenna did not occur until 2:15 p.m. — prior to our office receiving any media inquiries regarding this situation. I reviewed the additional information that the Office of Internal Affairs had received, and I determined there was now sufficient evidence to open a formal internal investigation pursuant to Vermont statute 20 VSA 1923.
I want to be clear: The Vermont State Police and I take all complaints regarding misconduct of state troopers, on duty or off, with the utmost seriousness. At no time did I or anyone else within the state police suggest that an investigation would not be opened; we advised only that additional information was necessary. Once that information was received, we immediately launched a formal internal investigation.
Due to the strict confidentiality requirements surrounding internal investigations, we are unable to comment any further on the specific allegations, and we must afford due process to the troopers involved and allow the investigation to proceed. Once the internal investigation is complete, the state police and I will consult the State Police Advisory Commission on next steps and provide whatever information we can, in accordance with the law, to the public.
2.9.2023. Department of Public Safety