What is going on with all of our sheriff departments?

1. Franklin (Grismore, arrest for assault & finances investigation)

2. Caledonia (Shatney $400k abnormal bonuses)

3. Bennington County (Schmidt working from Tennessee)

4. Rutland County (officer Caselnova involved in shootout in Saratoga NY)

5. Addison (sheriff Newton arrested, domestic violence investigation)

6. Orange (half left)

(Summary)

There is a new boss. He attempted to be the boss before he was set to be the boss. The old/existing boss revoked his access to systems. Once the date passes, he is the new boss, gets all his access back and the old boss moves on.

Lots of employees don’t like the new boss and about 1/2 the force has quit as of when the new boss starts.

They're cops, what else are you expecting?

It's wild that this only scratches the surface of the issues. Also, let's not forget that the Addison Country Sheriff was hit with TWO felony SEXUAL ASSAULT charges, AND THEN his ex-wife went public saying he was violent with her as well. This was also after a long investigation. It's insane that the people of Addison County haven't simply chased him out of town.

This is a tactic police departments down south have used many times when they don't support an incoming new boss for whatever reason (down there it's usually racism). I'll admit I don't know the specifics of this situation, but it's incredibly deranged that this takes place. These officers swore an oath to that community, not the Sheriff. We need to somehow stop letting police bounce around the country. They need to actually care about the communities they serve. They need to be a part of the communities they serve.

Contois tried to take leadership of the sheriff’s department well ahead of his Feb. 1 swearing in. Saying he was frustrated by what he called a lack of cooperation from Bohnyak, Contois penned an email to staff on Dec. 17 declaring he had “decided to take control.”

…

Contois has spent the last month in Arizona. He did not respond to requests for comment for this story, and it is unclear whether he is currently in the state.”

Knowing absolutely nothing about either the old or new sheriff, the new guy comes off like a real dick here. The whole “I decided to take control 1.5 months before my term starts” is absolutely tyrant-style behavior. I sure wouldn’t want to work for someone with that attitude.

[removed]

Well when this is the guy he's replacing. Can't really blame him for wanting to get a jump on things before the current sheriff spoils the well, though it looks like that already happened. The deputies and dispatchers are showing solidarity for this:

https://vtdigger.org/2023/01/24/days-ahead-of-his-departure-orange-county-sheriff-settles-case-involving-improper-assignment-of-investigative-work/

I bet old boss felt bad that employees were getting a hostile work environment, it's expensive to swap jobs, so I bet the odd bonuses were a way to get them some severance packages maybe? Who knows.

Maybe, no idea. I just summarized the situation as it has been reported in the news I have read about it.

Old boss was pissed that he lost his position as the President of the National Sheriffs' Association, and wasn't forthcoming in transfer of power.

As I said to the other guy. Maybe, no idea, just summarizing based on previous reporting.

"the greatest open secret in America is the incompetence, brutality, and criminality of our police" Gore Vidal from memory.

I thought it was going to be a lot worse than “let an under qualified deputy work cases he shouldn’t have”, and honestly it sounds more like it was a paperwork issue than anything else. If that is the worst thing he’s done then I wouldn’t see that as a “he needs to be replaced ASAP” type of thing.

Allowing someone not certified to do the work is a pretty big no-no for a regulated profession. It's bad enough if a contractor allows their untrained buddy to work on your sink, but this is about criminal investigations, someone's liberty at stake. Not only would any investigation that uncertified deputy was involved in be thrown out of court, but the sheriff rightly was looking at possible decertification himself, hence why this was all public. Certification is necessary for a reason and the stakes don't get much higher than criminal investigations. The state takes it quite seriously.

Edit: And if he's this sloppy about serious matters like this, where else is he sloppy? What else is he allowing? Just a horrid look for a sheriff.

Nah bro... this is a WILD take. He allowed an untrained deputy to be involved in investigating sexual assaults against children. CHILDREN. This isn't like they put a dude on traffic duty who missed that day of training. That guy should never have authority again.

And yeah, of course the incoming guy sounds like a dick too, he's also a cop. In this case, I'd argue he was trying to do the right thing by the community though. The outgoing guy clearly should not be in charge of a Wendy's, let alone a police department.

But yeah... the Arizona thing. It's not right. We need cops who are our neighbors and community members. People that have actual stake in the community they swear to protect. Instead we have a system that rewards bad cops with cushy jobs in rural areas when they fuck up where they are originally from.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills sometimes when I see what others will excuse when it comes to police behavior. These people have so much power and responsibility, but a good chunk of the population is totally willing to let bullshit like this slide because "I thought it would be worse."

It's truly mind blowing.

I’m not clear why the high bailiff didn’t remove him. But he also didn’t run for re-election so maybe the thought was just to wait it out. Not sure.

It's my understanding that they couldn't legally remove him until after he is found guilty in court. I was told he was asked to do the right thing, but refused. And now here we are.

If he wasn’t re-elected his term ends in 5 days anyway.

Thank goodness. But as someone with children in his county... well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you how I feel.

A dog shooting, planting evidence, his phone looked like a gun etc:)

I’m just going by what’s in the article here, so if there’s more details than that I have no idea. But according to that article, it literally was just about filing paperwork to allow that deputy to work those cases. It doesn’t say anything about the deputy not having training on those types of cases. If its just a matter of sloppy paperwork as the article suggests, it’s definitely not good (because you can’t fuck these things up when people’s freedom is on the line) but I’m not about to crucify the guy over it. If it was the type of thing that should cost him his certification then the board is responsible for that, but they apparently saw it as a “take a class” thing instead. New guy definitely appears to be stepping over the line with how he’s approaching it.

What?! Corrupt officers of the law? Say it ain't so! Ffs, welcome to America.

Just....one... apple...