Two Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputies who saw then-Capt. John Grismore kick a man in the department’s custody in August told Vermont State Police they thought Grismore used excessive force, according to court documents released Monday.
Moreover, Christopher Major and Karry Andileigh’s interviews with a police investigator, which were detailed in an affidavit of probable cause, appear to contradict at least some of Grismore’s comments about the incident to police and, more recently, the press.
The fired Franklin County Sheriff’s Office captain — who is running for the department’s top job this fall — pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge of simple assault stemming from the incident Aug. 7 in which he was caught on video kicking the man two times.
Grismore did not appear at the arraignment in Franklin County Superior criminal court. His attorney, Robert Katims, attended via video and entered Grismore’s plea. Grismore has not been arrested and a judge placed no conditions on him at the hearing.
Since video of the incident surfaced, Grismore has repeatedly defended his actions and denied wrongdoing. He remains the Democratic and Republican nominee to be the next county sheriff, though both political parties have called on him to exit the race. His name is the only one listed on the ballot for sheriff, though two write-in efforts are underway.
Grismore has argued that he kicked the man in custody — whom police have identified as Jeremy Burrows of Winooski — because he thought Burrows was going to spit on him. He said he wanted to push Burrows away to protect his and the other deputies’ health and was especially worried that Burrows could spread the coronavirus.
According to court documents, Major said Burrows had spit on his face twice before he was taken into the sheriff’s office and shackled to a bench.
Yet both Major and Andileigh told Detective Sgt. Daniel Trottier, the state police trooper investigating the incident, said that they did not see Burrows try to spit on any of the three deputies during their interactions with him once he was inside the sheriff’s office, according to court documents.
Major and Andileigh ultimately reported Grismore’s use of force to superiors at the sheriff’s department. According to state police, Franklin County Sheriff Roger Langevin requested on Aug. 11 that troopers open an investigation into the incident.
Major also told state police that he never expressed concerns about his health to Grismore after being spit on, and he believed that he and Andileigh had already made sure Burrows was “secured” and “not a threat” before Grismore got involved in the situation.
Major said Grismore’s use of force was “not ‘cool,’” according to Trottier’s written affidavit, and Andileigh told state police that she thought Grismore’s actions were “really aggressive.”
Andileigh also said that, after Grismore kicked Burrows a second time, she moved her body in between the two men — which can be seen in video of the incident — because she thought Grismore was going to kick Burrows again, and she wanted to “redirect” him.
“She felt she needed to do something to prevent injury to Burrows,” Trottier wrote in the affidavit.
State police also interviewed Burrows, who rated the pain from the kicks as a “six” on a scale of one to 10, according to court documents.
In interviews with both the state trooper and the press, Grismore maintained that he decided to intervene in the situation when he did not believe Major and Andileigh’s “de-escalation” attempts were working. He also told Trottier that he disagreed with the deputies’ assessments of his actions, according to court documents.
“Grismore stated they were wrong and they did not have the experience he had,” Trottier said. “He stated he had approximately 25 years of experience and they had several years at most.”
The affidavit notes that, as of the end of 2021, both Grismore and Andileigh had completed requisite use-of-force training, though Major had not. Andileigh had also completed a de-escalation course in June of this year, court documents indicate.
Andileigh also told police that, following the incident, Grismore told her not to report what had happened to a supervisor and “he would take care (of) reporting it,” according to court documents. She later contacted a sergeant and a lieutenant in the department about the incident.
Grismore did not respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
State police had been investigating Grismore’s conduct since August. After reviewing their investigation, Grand Isle State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito — who was tasked with reviewing the case to avoid conflicts among Franklin County authorities — charged Grismore with the single count of simple assault. If convicted, Grismore could face up to a year in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both.
Speaking after the arraignment Monday, DiSabito said results of the election Nov. 8 would have “no bearing” on the case. Grismore’s next court action is scheduled for early January, about a month before he could take office, should he be elected.
He declined to answer questions about the case.
“There’s a Latin term used in the legal community from a long time ago called ‘res ipsa loquitur,’” he said, “meaning, the evidence speaks for itself.”
