A former St. Albans police officer accused of unprofessional conduct has been permanently banned from serving as a law enforcement officer in Vermont.
Michael Malinowski faced allegations that when he was a sergeant in the St. Albans Police Department roughly three years ago, he lied during an internal investigation, repeatedly went to a coworker’s apartment while on duty and slept while on duty, according to Vermont Criminal Justice Council documents.
Malinowski entered into a “consent order” with the Vermont Criminal Justice Council that resulted in his decertification as a law enforcement officer in the state.
“Respondent (Malinowski) enters no further admissions here, but to resolve this matter without further time, expense, and uncertainty. Respondent has concluded that this agreement is acceptable and in the best interest of the parties,” the consent order added.
The Vermont Criminal Justice Council approved the order earlier this month, according to Christopher Brickell, the council’s deputy director.
Malinowski resigned from the St. Albans Police Department in January 2021. He received an earlier violation for dishonesty during an internal affairs investigation in 2020, according to council records.
The latest alleged policy violations, which led to the consent order, included lying during a 2020 internal investigation about going to the apartment of a coworker as part of an extramarital affair, after he had been explicitly ordered not to associate with that person while on duty, the council records stated.
Rich Cassidy, an attorney who represented Malinowski, could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Malinowski’s case coincided with a series of investigations and resignations in the St. Albans Police Department spanning over several years.
Jason Lawton, a former St. Albans officer, was sentenced in December 2022 to three months in jail for punching a handcuffed woman in the face in 2019 while he was working for the police department.
Earlier this year, WCAX reported, Mark Schwartz, a former St. Albans police officer, was acquitted of a simple assault charge following a trial in which he was accused of using a stun gun while an officer to incapacitate a vandalism suspect in 2019.
This month, Joel Daugreilh received a six-month deferred sentence and was ordered to perform 40 hours of community service after pleading guilty to assault for pepper-spraying a shackled teen in a holding cell in 2017. If he abides by the terms of his probation, the charge will be cleared from his record.
