ST. JOHNSBURY — A police officer and the woman he pushed during the fray of last week’s downtown protest have made amends.
Carmen Turnbaugh met with St. Johnsbury Lt. Mark Bickford on Saturday, and each expressed remorse for their actions during a demonstration the previous Wednesday against racial injustice in policing.
“Both Ms. Turnbaugh and LT Bickford agreed that the message of protest was too important to be lost in conflict,” Town Manager Chad Whitehead wrote in a press release, which he said both parties collaborated on. “This morning Ms. Turnbaugh and LT Bickford stand together with mutual respect for one another.”
Turnbaugh, a 2017 Lyndon Institute graduate, joined between 150 and 200 people who turned out to demonstrate in St. Johnsbury, inspired by state and nationwide protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Four people were arrested during the local protest — all on disorderly conduct citations. As St. Johnsbury officers began to move them toward the police department, several demonstrators formed a line in front of the station’s doorway. Turnbaugh was one of them.
Bickford approached the line, placed his hand on Turnbaugh and pushed her out of the way — causing her to stumble and fall backwards down the steps of the police station.
The moment, caught on video shared widely on social media, spurred immediate outrage from the crowd gathered on Main Street that day.
Police Chief Tim Page said Bickford hadn’t intended to send her down the stairs and was only trying to clear the way for officers. Whitehead responded the day of the incident by commissioning a private investigation, which is still slated to move forward.
The town manager wrote in his weekend announcement that Turnbaugh and her brother met Bickford at the town office building Saturday with the help of local attorney Corby Gary.
“Man, that girl was terribly sorry about how things occurred,” said Gary, who explained that Turnbaugh, who knows his son, had reached out to discuss the situation. “What a great person.”
He, Turnbaugh and her brother talked with Page, Bickford and Whitehead. Everyone ended up being on the same page, the attorney said, calling the mutual reconciliation “as good as it’s going to get.”
Turnbaugh expressed “sincere remorse for her actions which contributed to the incident,” wrote Whitehead, while Bickford offered his “sincere remorse for the unintentional consequence of his actions in clearing the doorway.”
Whitehead commended Turnbaugh “for her courage and conviction” and Bickford “for his understanding and dedication to his career and our community,” asking others to follow their example. He took a photo of the two inside the community visitor center — both masked and standing together.
Turnbaugh and Bickford drew praise from Gov. Phil Scott, too.
“I want to recognize the situation in St. Johnsbury last week, where we saw a troubling video with a young woman falling down the stairs after contact with an officer,” the governor said during his Monday press conference.
“I saw that these two met over the weekend, made amends and joined together to highlight the important message of these protests,” Scott said. “And I thank them both for their leadership.”
