The head of the Vermont Police Academy has defended before lawmakers a controversial police training exercise that reportedly left several police recruits with serious head and other injuries.
Rick Gauthier, the executive director of the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council, which oversees the VPA, told a Senate committee on Wednesday that the “Hitchhiker Scenario” did not involve a full-blown strike to the head — contrary to what some recruits have reported. He said fewer than than 20 percent of the recruits were struck in the head. Historically, he said few head injuries had been reported, only a recent unexplained “cluster,” adding other drills at the academy resulted in higher injury rates.
Reaction by members of the Senate Government Operations Committee was mixed. In interviews Thursday, Sen. Anthony Pollina panned the scenario and criticized Gauthier for not showing more empathy for injured recruits. Committee chair Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, said Gauthier’s testimony about “the tiny number of injuries” was “compelling.” White also questioned whether any outrage was overblown. She and other committee members wondered if the drill could be modified, which the academy did last year to include less physical force after a complaint from Burlington.
In the “Hitchhiker Scenario” — a role-playing exercise in the 16-week certification program for police officers at the Pittsford academy — a recruit would be handed an identification from a trainer playing the role of a hitchhiker. If the recruit looked down, the trainer would strike the recruit in the head. Both the recruit and trainer wore protective gear including a padded helmet. Several police officers in Burlington, including an officer who has sued the state, said they were struck so hard and repeatedly they received concussions and other injuries, including hearing loss.
The drill has been criticized by Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo, who said at least three Burlington officers sustained serious injuries over the last several years. He said no drill should include unexpected sharp blows to the head.
Meanwhile, an association of Vermont police chiefs and sheriffs, in reaction, voiced support for the academy, its programs and trainers.
The head of the Vermont State Police, Col. Matthew Birmingham, who was aware of one state police recruit injured during the exercise, did not endorse or want to discuss the “Hitchhiker” drill specifically, citing litigation in part. However, he said this week the academy “appropriately employs hands-on exercises and techniques” to prepare officers for the “potentially dangerous physical and mental challenges of police work.”
Gauthier described to lawmakers the strike to the head the trainees receive as “a swat.” He said four out of five recruits were not hit because they properly followed earlier training on positioning themselves, maintaining eye contact and taking other defensive postures when approaching a subject. An internal Burlington Police review, however, found trainees reported being hit so hard they fell to their knees, almost blacked out and suffered concussions.
The purpose of the “Hitchhiker Scenario” and other role-playing exercises is to mimic real-life, potentially deadly situations a police officer might encounter. Gauthier said some recruits have told the academy later how important the exercise had been in their career. All of the role-playing drills have a third-party observer, he said.
“The goal is to get the recruit through the training, not see how many we can knock out, “ said Gauthier, who used to be the police chief in Bennington.
He estimated 700 recruits had gone through the exercise since 2012 and that more injuries were reported in the running programs. He told the committee he couldn’t explain the recent “cluster” of injuries reported to have occurred in the past year and a half. The reports did not involve the same trainer, he said.
The Vermont Criminal Justice Council has agreed to two investigations — a review of the use-of-force exercises and a separate investigation into how the injuries occurred, the academy’s response and whether other officers were injured. Following news reports, a Washington County deputy sheriff said he too had suffered a head injury during the exercise by an academy certified trainer.
Gauthier’s comments to lawmakers came after he testified on other scheduled issues, including fair and impartial training for officers.
He reiterated his support for the techniques used in the “Hitchhiker Scenario.”
Pollina, who led the questioning of Gauthier, said in an interview: “I would have hoped to have heard more empathy for those recruits who got hit on the head and suffered health effects. I was surprised how unempathetic (Gauthier) was.”
“I was disappointed how flip he was saying he supports the idea,” said Pollina, P/D-Washington, adding the scenario “seems like it’s crossing the line.”
White said she would support modifying the drill to avoid injuries, but said she was struck by the relatively small number of injuries.
“We don’t know the details but it does seem we need to train people how to respond to violent outbursts like that, and I don’t know how you would do that and completely prevent injuries,” White said. “The relatively tiny number of injuries he reported, I thought, was compelling.”
She added: “Unfortunately, it is the kind of thing that gets people’s hackles up because we don’t understand what goes into it and don’t understand the details and so we like to respond in an outraged way.”
Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, viewed Gauthier’s testimony positively when contrasted with Adjutant General Steven Cray, who testified before her committee earlier in the week and defended the Vermont National Guard from media reports that found a culture of misconduct, alcohol use and sexual harassment.
“Unlike Steven Cray dismissing the discussion and saying there was no problem, Rick (Gauthier) didn’t say there was no problem,” Clarkson said. “While he was saying he thought they did a great job and did it consistently and that he had confidence in who he hires, he also was not dismissing out of hand there was a problem. He acknowledged the lawsuit. He was also open to our concerns.”
Sen. Brian Collamore, R-Rutland, said he wanted to think more about whether the scenario was appropriate. Sen. Christopher Bray, D-Addison, said the contrast between the severity of some of the injuries reported and Gauthier’s testimony “didn’t make sense.”
“I’m sure they take the safety of all their trainees very seriously, but it’s one of those things we learn about” the Legislature, he said. “You learn a little and it leads to more questions than when you’ve started.”
