Col Matthew T Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, is pleased to announce the following transfer: Lieutenant Barbara Kessler, assistant staff operations commander at Headquarters, has been transferred to lieutenant/station commander at the Royalton Field Station. The transfer was effective Sept. 2, 2018.
Lieutenant Kessler has served the people of Vermont for more than 21 years, graduating from the Vermont Police Academy in 1997 and beginning her career as a trooper at the Bradford Barracks. She worked for the DUI team for a short time in 1999 before transferring to Royalton Barracks. In 2000, she became the first woman to serve on the Vermont State Police Scuba Team. She left the Scuba Team in 2006 to join the newly formed Crash Reconstruction Team, where she remains a member. She then was promoted to sergeant/patrol commander at the Royalton Barracks in 2008. She transferred to detective sergeant at the Royalton Barracks in 2013, investigating deaths and major crimes. In March 2015, she was promoted to lieutenant/assistant staff operations commander at Headquarters, then was transferred that June to the become director of the Office of Professional Development in Pittsford, which handles VSP recruiting, hiring and training. She returned to Headquarters as assistant staff operations commander in December 2017.
She becomes the third woman to command a Vermont State Police Field Station and is the only woman currently serving in that role.
A Vermont State Police field station commander is responsible for overseeing delivery of law enforcement services to the communities served by that station. The field station commander is the local representative of the Vermont State Police to the community it serves, and works with local officials and residents to address public safety and law enforcement concerns in their service area.
The Royalton station provides police coverage throughout Addison, Orange and Windsor counties. Primary law enforcement services are provided for the towns of Barnard, Bethel, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Chelsea, Granville, Hancock, Hartland, Plymouth, Pomfret, Randolph, Reading, Rochester, Royalton, Strafford, Sharon, Stockbridge and Tunbridge. The coverage is augmented by the Addison, Orange and Windsor county sheriffs’ offices. The Royalton station also provides assistance as requested to Hartford, Norwich, Randolph, Royalton, Woodstock and Windsor (West Windsor) police departments as requested. The Royalton station patrols 284 miles of interstate and state roads within Addison, Orange and Windsor counties, including the junction of I-89 and I-91.
Lieutenant Kessler can be reached at the Royalton Field Station at 802-234-9933 and [email protected]. The Field Station is located at 2011 Vermont Route 107, Bethel, VT 05032.
To find out more about the Royalton Field Station and the communities it serves, visit http://vsp.vermont.gov/stations/royalton.