Amid nationwide reckoning, the town of Chester is considering the future of its police department.
Last year, Vermont’s Human Rights Commission found reasonable grounds that the Chester Police Department engaged in illegal discrimination against Obadiah Jacobs in actions leading up to and during a traffic stop in May 2019. The traffic stop was a reaction to a “wanted driver” alert from a nearby town.
The town paid out a $50,000 settlement to Jacobs, who is Black, and issued a qualified public apology. Sgt. William Frank, the Chester officer who pulled over Jacobs at gunpoint, still serves in the Chester Police Department.
The commission’s investigator found there was “sufficient direct evidence to show Sgt. Frank was motivated by racial animus” when he stopped and searched Jacobs.
Now, officials are hiring former state police Director James Baker to assess Chester’s police department, and some in town want to establish a citizen-led police advisory committee.
At a meeting Wednesday night, the Chester Selectboard discussed plans for Baker’s assessment, and initial thoughts on establishing a citizen board.
“I don’t think transparency and participation can hurt,” said Heather Chase, a selectboard member, referring to the idea of an advisory committee. “I think it would be a good thing.”
Julie Hance, Chester’s town manager, suggested that an advisory committee could be formed after Baker issued his findings, and the consultant could also address the pros and cons of forming such a body.
Hance explained that Baker will meet with Chester’s five full-time and three part-time police officers individually; review town policies, procedures and day-to-day activities; and hold focus groups with business leaders and citizens about policing, all as part of his assessment.
“The community will be very heavily involved,” Hance said of Baker’s plans, and she hopes the ultimate report will reflect the desires of Chester’s residents.
Selectboard member Ben Whalen urged patience from the community as Baker gets to work.
“I’m certainly not ready to jump ahead on anything,” Whalen said.
According to Hance, Baker will begin his work late this month and will need about six weeks to produce a report.
Baker performed a comparable investigation into the police force in Shelburne, where residents had expressed frustration about a lack of transparency in police actions. His report was issued in February.
After several high-profile killings of Black men and women by police in 2020, particularly the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, communities nationwide began assessing police and the role that they should play.
In Vermont, Burlington cut the size of its police department and pushed for more citizen oversight in police misconduct reviews — with some opposition.
In Barre City, councilors formed a citizen board in July 2020 to review police complaints, though it possesses limited powers.
More recently, Bennington sought to form a citizen board with some authority over investigations into complaints against police. But after the town’s attorney looked into state regulations, she found that the selectboard couldn’t designate that authority to a committee.
Ultimately, the town moved forward with creating a five-to-seven-member board with the goal of analyzing anonymous complaints against Bennington police, and recommending additional training for officers.
In Chester, town officials hope that by bringing in Baker — who has previously filled difficult roles such as leading the Department of Corrections during the pandemic, and taking over Rutland’s police department in the wake of misconduct — they will get clarity on how to move forward.
“He has a very good reputation. It’s very hard to get him. We managed to snag him — I’m very happy about that,” said Hance, the town manager.
