Mistrial for Vermont Sheriff Who Kicked Shackled Detainee
On July 24, 2024, a Vermont jury hung on an assault charge against Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore, who is accused of kicking a shackled detainee at the county jail in 2022. That followed a report from the Impeachment Committee of the Vermont House on April 9, 2024, finding no evidence that Grismore “improperly exceeded or abused the powers of his office” during the incident.
The Committee’s excuse was purely technical: Grismore wasn’t Sheriff at the time but a Captain of the jail’s guards when he was caught on surveillance video kicking the shackled and intoxicated detainee. Two fellow deputies reported him, and then-Sheriff Roger Langevin fired him. Leaders of the local Democratic and Republican parties—Grismore had already won both primaries for Sheriff—called on him to drop out of the race, but he refused; he was elected in November 2022, about a month after he was hit with the assault charge for the detainee’s attack.
Jurors were unable to decide if they believed Grismore, who said he didn’t kick the detainee but merely used his leg to prevent the man from spitting on him. A retrial of the assault charge was set to begin on September 30, 2024, in Grand Isle state court. PLN will update developments as they are available. See: Vermont v. Grismore, Vt. Crim. (Grand Isle Cty.), Case No. 22-CR-09841.
On the same day that state lawmakers began their impeachment inquiry in May 2023 —not long after Franklin County State’s Attorney John Lavoie issued him a Brady letter, which flags law enforcement officers with credibility issues—Grismore was locked out of the National Crime Information Center Database (NCICD). As PLN reported, that left deputies who retained access caught between their obligation to their boss and NCICD rules prohibiting them from sharing database information with him. [See: PLN, Aug. 2023, p.26.]
The Vermont Criminal Justice Council then revoked Grismore’s law enforcement certification at the end of an eight-hour hearing in December 2023. But that didn’t force him from office, so the Impeachment Committee asked Grismore to resign, arguing that staying in office represented a “disservice” to county residents. The Sheriff was unmoved. Not only did he refuse to resign, but he added: “Personally, I’m certainly happy that part of this process has finally, you know, come to a close.”
Additional source: Vermont Public
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login