A former St. Albans police officer, captured on video punching a handcuffed woman in the face while she was in police custody, has reached a plea deal with prosecutors that caps the amount of jail time he faces at six months.
During a video hearing Wednesday in Franklin County Superior criminal court, Jason Lawton, 33, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault for striking Amy Connelly of Highgate in March 2019 at the St. Albans police station.
As part of a plea agreement, Lawton’s sentencing will be contested, with prosecutors allowed to ask for a jail term of up to six months while his attorney can argue for a lesser sentence.
A date for sentencing was not set, as the judge ordered the state Department of Corrections to conduct a presentence investigation for the court prior to that proceeding.
Evan Chadwick, an attorney representing Connelly in a federal lawsuit that names Lawton and the city of St. Albans among the defendants, said after the hearing that the charge against Lawton should have been more severe than a misdemeanor.
“We still disagree with the charge itself,” Chadwick said, adding, “My client is happy that some responsibility has been taken and that he will face judgment for what he did.”
Asked what effect the guilty plea in the criminal case would have on the civil lawsuit, Chadwick replied, “He’s admitting liability, but other than that I have no comment.”
Judge Martin Maley during Wednesday’s hearing asked Assistant Attorney General Paul Barkus, the prosecutor, why the case wasn’t charged as a felony from the start, or even multiple misdemeanors.
The prosecutor replied that it “came down to the fact that there was a single punch” and “in large part” the decision rested on that.
Maley then said that, from his reading of the charging affidavit, Lawton pushed Connelly into a wall twice, punched her, and then dragged her, causing her head to hit the ground.
“I count, by that, four assaults,” the judge said.
Maley then added, “It’s the state’s decision as to how this case was charged, and here we are.”
Video of the March 14, 2019, incident shows Amy Connelly in a holding cell at the St. Albans police station with her hands cuffed behind her back.
Connelly then stands up, appearing to raise a leg toward Lawton. He then shoves her onto the cell bench, the footage shows, grabs her shirt near her neck, and punches her in the face. Lawton and two other officers push her face-first to the ground and cuff her ankles.
“You guys are brutes,” Connelly can be heard telling the officers.
Connelly was later taken by ambulance to the Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans for treatment. Connelly suffered injuries to her face and bruising around her eye.
Connelly reached out to the ACLU of Vermont, which filed a public records request for the body camera footage of Lawton striking her. Seven Days first reported on the video in August 2019.
Lawton was later fired from the police department.
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office charged Lawton with misdemeanor simple assault in November 2019 after the ACLU obtained the video footage.
Barkus, the prosecutor in the case, told Maley during Wednesday’s hearing that the plea deal took into consideration “Mr. Lawton’s agreement to take responsibility” for his actions.
Rebecca Otey, Lawton’s attorney, also spoke in favor of moving forward with the plea agreement.
“Mr. Lawton is determined that this is going to be in his best interest right now to resolve this matter and focus on a contested sentencing, as opposed to continuing toward trial,” Otey said.
