[C]harges of domestic assault against the police chief in Randolph have been dismissed, but the decision is under review by the Vermont attorney general.
Two misdemeanor charges against Chief Daniel Brunelle were dismissed Monday on the recommendation of Washington County State’s Attorney Scott Williams. No reason was provided in the court documents.
According to John Campbell, the executive director of the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, the attorney general is being asked to review Williams’ decision.
“My recommendation is that because of resource issues and because of the sensitive nature of the case that the attorney general review the case,” Campbell said Tuesday. The attorney general has the power to review a case because of “concurrent jurisdiction,” Campbell said.
Attorney General TJ Donovan said he would look at the case.
Campbell’s reference to “resource issues” was because Williams has been on leave from the office, reportedly under psychiatric care. Last week Williams was excused from testifying at the sentencing hearing for Jody Herring, who killed four people in 2015, including a social worker whom Williams cradled in his arms as she died. Williams has said he had issues with PTSD that predated the murders.
Brunelle was accused of assaulting a female family member in Berlin in late July and early August. In separate incidents, she said he pushed her into a refrigerator and on another occasion onto the ground. Brunelle denied the allegations and has served as chief while the charges have been pending.
Brunelle, 49, started as chief in Randolph in June after serving 19 years on the force in South Burlington, where he won an award for helping domestic violence victims.
In an interview Tuesday, the alleged victim said she was told by Washington County state’s attorney victim’s advocate Kathy Daub-Stearns that Williams dropped the case because of credibility issues involving the arresting officer in Berlin, Joseph Carriveau.
Attempts to reach Williams, Deputy State’s Attorney Kristin Gozzi and Daub-Stearns were unsuccessful.
Defense attorney Craig Nolan acknowledged that he had raised questions about Carriveau’s credibility but said the accuser’s credibility was also an issue.
“With all due respect to John (Campbell), who I know, the dismissal had nothing to do with resources. The case lacked evidentiary support. The allegations were false, and there were credibility problems with the two primary witnesses — the complainant and the investigating officer,” Nolan said.
Nolan declined to comment further on Carriveau, except to say that “he had very little testimony that he could have offered at trial.”
Since the arrest, Carriveau took a job with the Barre Police Department. Chief Tim Bombardier confirmed that Carriveau resigned from the force Tuesday. Bombardier would not elaborate.
According to Brunelle’s accuser and confirmed by another source, Carriveau had a disciplinary problem while attending the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford.
“It just seems ironic my case is being dismissed against one person in law enforcement because the arresting officer, another law enforcement officer, did something wrong in the past,” she said.
She added the reason didn’t make sense because there were two officers at the arrest, which Nolan confirmed. Carriveau wrote the affidavit in support of the charges.
In an interview Tuesday, Donovan said he was “totally confused” by Williams’ decision. Last week, Donovan said, he spoke with Gozzi and offered to help Williams, “a young prosecutor in a tough spot,” to review the Brunelle case before going forward or dismissing it. Instead, Williams went ahead before Donovan said he could take a look, sending a text to his deputy to dismiss the case.
“We’re happy to take a look at it, but frankly they put us in an awkward spot now” because the case is no longer pending and would have to be refiled, Donovan said. The attorney general stressed his desire to honor the discretion of local prosecutors.
“Last week we offered to help,” Donovan said. “I hope Scott is doing well and given enough time and space so he’s OK, but we got to make sure we’re making the right decision on the case and the public is fully informed why they’re being made, and we have to be able to answer that question.”
He added: “I don’t understand what’s going on, and we need to get some clarity.”
Donovan said he was aware of issues being raised about Carriveau’s credibility but said he did not know if other criminal cases he worked on had been dismissed.
Nolan served as Washington County state’s attorney from 2005 to 2007. He said he did not work on any cases involving Carriveau.
