Vermont law enforcement officials are criticizing the Chittenden County State’s Attorney after she declined to prosecute several individuals arrested during a protest last month that turned violent.
A violent clash between law enforcement and protesters occurred in South Burlington on March 11, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents broke down the door of a house and detained three residents.
This week, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, a Democrat, said she would not prosecute three individuals arrested by the Vermont State Police and would refer another three arrested by city of Burlington Police to a restorative justice program.
In her statement, George acknowledges that “...some protesters escalated the situation and went beyond civil disobedience into unacceptable and perhaps criminal behavior....but I am just as confident that there were some law enforcement officers who... responded in a way that may ultimately be deemed legal, but was also unacceptable.”
Republican Governor Phil Scott says he is not surprised by her decision.
“She has typically said in the past that she wasn’t going to pursue any of this. So, we’ll just have to accept it and move on.”
Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison and Vermont State Police Director Col. Matthew Birmingham issued a joint statement criticizing the decision not to prosecute. During the governor’s weekly briefing on Thursday Morrison said George made her bias obvious.
“I understand now clearly that she is an activist first and a prosecutor second. And that came across in her reasoning that she used. She appears to be personally aligned with the cause at hand. And so for me I feel like okay I get it now. It’s out there now and now we will work with that information in the future and we will plan our future decisions accordingly.”
Morrison expanded on that comment saying prosecuting law breakers in Chittenden County is problematic and finding alternatives to hold them accountable must be considered
“In terms of future protests we will need to make decisions about showing up at all, taking people into custody or not, or perhaps investigating them retroactively. Looking forward I do think it’s incumbent on me and my team to have a conversation with the Attorney General’s office about possibly becoming the prosecutorial arm when lawbreakers are present at these events.”
Scott was asked if he now regrets appointing George to the position in 2017.
“I’ve been asked that question a few times and asked myself that question a few times. But she came across very well in the interview. She was very much supported by law enforcement at the time and we took our cue from them. They thought she was someone they wanted to work with and that‘s why she was appointed.”
ACLU of Vermont Executive Director James Lyall says the criticism of George is unwarranted and law enforcement officials are trying to distract from their own culpability
“There’s nothing unusual or remarkable about a state’s attorney not pursuing a prosecution. It happens all the time. What is remarkable is that Vermont State Police and law enforcement leaders felt the need to denounce that decision. What’s also remarkable is that they seem to be more concerned with the actions of a handful of protesters than they are about the lawlessness of federal agents in our communities.”
George is running for a third four-year term and faces a Democratic primary from Bram Kranichfeld, who was a deputy prosecutor for Chittenden County and is currently the Franklin County State’s Attorney.
