The Bennington town government is seeking public comment on a second set of procedures to guide the work of its police department.
The procedures are part of ongoing efforts to reform the town police. Now up for review are procedures for seven areas: body cameras, code of conduct, collaborative partnerships, nepotism and fraternization, social media, special events, and traffic stops.
The procedures — paired with previously approved Bennington police policies — can be viewed on the town website. Comments are accepted until Nov. 17 at 5 p.m.
“As a community, get out there and take a look at those,” Bennington Selectboard member Bruce Lee-Clark said during a meeting last week, where he announced the publication of the new procedures. “Make comments. Make suggestions. Ask questions.”
Lee-Clark and two other selectboard members overseeing the process plan to forward the comments to Bennington Police Department leaders. Police Chief Paul Doucette and Lt. Camillo Grande expect to incorporate appropriate comments, then send the procedures back to Lee-Clark’s group for review.
The goal is to “reflect the will of the public” while respecting the department’s expertise in police work, Lee-Clark said in an interview. He expects the new set of procedures to go into effect by January.
28 pages on traffic stops
The draft procedures on traffic stops, which run 28 pages, are expected to attract particular scrutiny.
Last year, Bennington settled out of court with Shamel Alexander, a Black man who accused town police of racial profiling during a 2013 traffic stop. Alexander’s lawsuit came after the Vermont Supreme Court unanimously overturned his drug conviction, ruling that a Bennington police officer searched him without reasonable suspicion.
Traffic stop data shows that Black and Hispanic people are consistently stopped more than others in Bennington.
An initial set of seven procedures, which went through the same review, took effect in mid-October and are now posted on the Bennington Police Department website. They include procedures for fair and impartial policing, use of force, and investigating and reporting hate crimes.
Updating police practices is part of ongoing reforms that began after Bennington police were criticized for not properly handling the harassment of former state Rep. Kiah Morris. The town hired the International Association of Chiefs of Police to perform a comprehensive review of the department’s policies and its relationship with the community.
In a report last year, the association recommended that the police department “adopt the practice of procedural justice by creating policy, training to the newly developed policy, and executing the policy in everyday interactions.”
The police department drafted the procedures by weaving together information from a variety of sources, Lee-Clark said, including the international association, Vermont State Police and existing Bennington police guidelines.
The 14 policies and procedures created so far target areas that the International Association of Chiefs of Police found “most critical,” Bennington Selectboard Chair Jeannie Jenkins said in an interview.
Work lies ahead
Jenkins said the town will continue to assess if the police department needs additional policies and procedures. In the meantime, town police are guided by existing “general orders” from department leaders.
Some people have criticized the reform efforts, saying a more diverse group should have been involved in drafting new policies and procedures, including people whom the police department had harmed.
“Policies are in vain when you don’t do that initial groundwork,” said Mia Schultz, president of the Rutland Area NAACP, which encompasses Bennington. “The process is flawed, so I don’t have much confidence in the results.”
Schultz also said she does not think the reforms will go far enough if they are implemented by the same leaders who have run the town and the police department for decades.
The town is in the process of forming a safety and equity board, following the International Association of Chiefs of Police recommendation to form a citizens group that will have oversight of the Bennington Police Department.
The board’s work would include reviewing complaints against the police, recommending training programs, and developing policies and procedures.
Town officials plan to have the group formed by springtime, timing that the NAACP and American Civil Liberties Union earlier said meant a delay in addressing civil liberties and civil rights violations.
