Two Vermont state troopers accused of using racist, misogynistic and other degrading language at an off-duty gathering resigned from their posts last week following a Vermont State Police internal investigation.
Now, the question of whether to decertify Nathan Jensen and Nathan Greco is in the hands of Vermont’s 24-member Criminal Justice Council. And whether the former troopers are decertified will be a major factor in their potential ability to be hired by another law enforcement agency.
“In theory,” the council’s deputy director, Christopher Brickell, told VTDigger Thursday, “their career is terminated when they lose their certification.”
In such cases, Brickell said, “They no longer have the ability to take law enforcement action, so there really isn’t any agency that would hire somebody without that certification, at least as a law enforcement officer.” He would not comment directly on any action the council might take related to Jensen or Greco.
The state police’s internal affairs division began its probe in February, after a lawmaker raised concerns from a constituent about speech allegedly used at an off-duty gathering of state troopers and their significant others. Attendees played an online game in which they competed to write rap lyrics, some of which utilized racist, homophobic, misogynistic and sexually explicit language — including the N-word — according to archives of the game viewed by VTDigger.
That investigation found that the troopers had committed “a serious violation of the Vermont State Police Code of Conduct,” according to a state police press release announcing the troopers’ resignation.
“Everyone’s entitled to free speech,” Brickell said Thursday. But, he added, “Even though it’s protected (speech), it was conduct that falls within the Vermont State Police policies of conduct unbecoming an officer. … So there’s a policy violation, and that’s what gets addressed.”
According to some stakeholders in the criminal justice arena, the former troopers should have been terminated — and not given the opportunity to resign. Defense attorney Robert Appel — a former defender general and executive director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission — said as much in an interview Thursday.
“It’s bullshit. It allows them to take their bad attitude and unconstitutional conduct to another agency,” he said, comparing it to the card game, “pass the trash.”
In an unusual public statement Tuesday night — four days after Jensen and Greco resigned — the State Police Advisory Commission wrote that it had recommended to Commissioner of Public Safety Jennifer Morrison that the troopers be terminated. That differed from an account of the commission’s position initially offered up by state police, in which police said the commission “concurs … that misconduct had occurred warranting discipline up to and including termination.”
Morrison, whose department oversees the Vermont State Police, contends her hands were tied. The state police, she said in a written response to questions, “cannot prevent an employee from resigning.” (Morrison declined a phone interview with VTDigger.)
Nancy Sheahan, the longtime chair of the State Police Advisory Commission, agreed with Morrison’s assessment.
“Even though we felt that’s what should happen, it’s not like it could happen instantaneously,” Sheahan said of the troopers’ potential termination. “There are union contracts there. You just have to follow the process.”
Sheahan conceded that Jensen and Greco can truthfully report in job applications that they haven’t been fired from their most recent posts. But most law enforcement agencies, in and outside of Vermont, should do their due diligence and conduct a background check of their work history, she said.
Neither of the troopers signed any agreements or settlements with the state, Morrison said, before they resigned and issued verbal apologies for their behavior. Both were on paid leave while they were being investigated. Their benefits will end on April 8, at the end of the current pay period, according to Morrison. Because neither was vested with the state pension system at the time of their resignation, the commissioner said, they will not receive pensions.
Morrison wrote there is little danger the troopers will end up working in Vermont state law enforcement again.
“I am deeply concerned about the circumstances of this case, and these officers will not work for the Department of Public Safety under my leadership,” she said.
Absent decertification, Jensen and Greco could potentially be hired by a different Vermont law enforcement agency, such as a municipal police department. But, Morrison said, “So long as other law enforcement leaders perform due diligence and conduct thorough background investigations, it is difficult to imagine another law enforcement leader would not share my concerns.”
Additionally, according to Brickell, decertification by the Criminal Justice Council “doesn’t have any impact out of state.” The council contributes to a national database of decertified law enforcement officers, which out-of-state hiring agencies could access if they choose. But a police force beyond the state’s borders could potentially still decide to hire Jensen or Greco, even if they become decertified in Vermont and the agency has access to their disciplinary records.
“This is a Vermont law, so it only has an impact on the certification for an officer in Vermont,” Brickell said.
Morrison said her department has reported the findings of its investigation to the Criminal Justice Council.
Brickell said he couldn’t say how long the council might take to decide whether to decertify Jensen and Greco. The next step, he said, would be for the council to review the department’s investigation and determine whether to hold hearings. Jensen and Greco’s attendance would not be mandatory, and any decertification action could be arbitrated outside of a hearing between the council and the troopers or their legal counsel.
Vermont Troopers’ Association executive director Michael O’Neil told VTDigger Thursday that the troopers’ union had been providing both Jensen and Greco legal counsel prior to their resignations last week. Neither have retained new legal representation as of Thursday, O’Neil told VTDigger.
Greco, through O’Neil, declined to comment Thursday. Jensen could not be reached.
O’Neil declined to comment on the situation further, given that neither of the former troopers remain members of the union.
The Criminal Justice Council’s ability to decertify officers is relatively new. The process was put into statute in 2018. According to Lia Ernst, who works as the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, officers in years past who suspected an investigation into their conduct and saw the writing on the wall could just quit, halting an investigation.
“Preventing exactly that sort of agency-hopping and short-circuiting of the investigative process was really one of the main driving factors behind this change to the law,” Ernst said Thursday.
Now, such investigations and decertification processes can continue whether or not an officer resigns. But Ernst said the law’s implementation over the years has seen a “rough road.” She’s eager to see how Jensen’s and Greco’s cases play out.
“I think the purpose of the entire decertification process is to ensure that the people that we’ve entrusted with such incredible power and authority can be trusted to exercise that power responsibly, ethically, professionally and without bias,” Ernst said. “It remains to be seen whether the decertification process works in this case.”
Paul Heintz contributed to this report.
