- Kevin McCallum
- Speaker Jill Krowinski speaking at the Statehouse on Thursday
Updated at 5:04 p.m.
Vermont lawmakers took the first step on Thursday toward impeaching two Franklin County officials over behavior they said undermines public trust in law enforcement. The House voted to explore forming a special seven-member committee to begin investigating State’s Attorney John Lavoie and Sheriff John Grismore.
Vermont lawmakers took the first step on Thursday toward impeaching two Franklin County officials over behavior they said undermines public trust in law enforcement. The House voted to explore forming a special seven-member committee to begin investigating State’s Attorney John Lavoie and Sheriff John Grismore.
Lavoie, a longtime prosecutor in the office who was elected state's attorney in November, has been accused of harassing and discriminating against women in his department with inappropriate remarks and unwanted touching. He has denied some of the allegations and rejected calls to resign.
Grismore was elected sheriff in November despite having been caught on video kicking a suspect in the groin in August. He faces an assault charge and was fired from the department he now leads. He has also rejected calls to step down.
In a Statehouse press conference on Thursday that preceded the vote, House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) said lawmakers need to hold the men accountable.
“The people of Franklin County deserve justice and elected officials who they can trust to uphold the rule of law and to represent their community with integrity,” Krowinski said. She added, “Despite calls from Franklin County residents for them to resign, these two individuals have refused to do so, and that has shaken the public’s trust in their respective offices.”
- Kevin McCallum
- Rep. Mike McCarthy (D-St. Albans) and Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington)
Rep. Mike McCarthy (D-St. Albans) said he and others would prefer a "statutory fix" that would enable suspending such individuals pending the outcome of a review of conduct by a professional board. Absent that, however, lawmakers need to act, he said.
“Franklin County deserves law enforcement leaders who perform their obligations to the highest ethical and professional standards," McCarthy said.
The special bipartisan committee of seven House members to be named by Krowinski would likely meet over the summer to investigate the cases. The House resolution gives the committee the authority to subpoena witnesses and compel testimony. Once the committee's work was done, the full House would need to hold a special session to decide whether to impeach one or both of the men. The case would then move to the Senate, which would conduct its own mini-trial and decide their fate. 
- Kevin McCallum
- John Lavoie
The report says that Lavoie used phrases like “whore” and “fucking slutbag” and “the c word.” He also once mentioned that someone had “magnificent boobs.”
The report says Lavoie rubbed a photo of an employee’s boyfriend on his backside; grabbed an employee’s ID on a lanyard and stuffed it into the top of her dress; and pinched an employee to suggest she was overweight. All of the dozen or so employees he manages are women.
Lavoie allegedly cracked multiple jokes about people's weight, such as making “motion like an elephant’s trunk” to mock someone's size.
He is also accused of have made inappropriate remarks about people’s sexual orientation, including calling a woman a “carpet muncher” for traveling with a female companion.
The report also says that Lavoie had mocked people based on their national origins. This included speaking in an Indian accent like Apu, the stereotypical convenience store owner on the television show "The Simpsons." He also reportedly referred to someone with a disability as a “gimp.”
While Lavoie denied many of the allegations, he admitted many others, including his frequent use of the word “retards” to describe his employees. In one instance, returning to the office angry about the state of some files he had taken to court, he said, “you are all a bunch of fucktards,” the report states. And when an employee indicated she was heading to a union meeting, Lavoie “jabbed her in the chest and farted,” he admitted.
The report also says that Lavoie had mocked people based on their national origins. This included speaking in an Indian accent like Apu, the stereotypical convenience store owner on the television show "The Simpsons." He also reportedly referred to someone with a disability as a “gimp.”
While Lavoie denied many of the allegations, he admitted many others, including his frequent use of the word “retards” to describe his employees. In one instance, returning to the office angry about the state of some files he had taken to court, he said, “you are all a bunch of fucktards,” the report states. And when an employee indicated she was heading to a union meeting, Lavoie “jabbed her in the chest and farted,” he admitted.
Some employees cried over Lavoie's comments. One spoke to a counselor, the report says.
Vermont lawmakers are empowered to remove elected constitutional officers from office, though instances are rare. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the power to impeach “(e)very officer of State, whether judicial or executive” that members find to be “state criminals.” That doesn’t mean officers need to have been convicted of a crime to be impeached, House Clerk BetsyAnn Wrask explained in a memo outlining the impeachment process.
Just as the U.S. Constitution does not define “high crimes and misdemeanors” for which a president can be impeached, the Vermont Constitutional does not define what a “state criminal” is.
That makes it possible to impeach someone for “conduct found by the General Assembly to violate the public trust or to undermine the operation of government, even if that conduct is not specifically covered by criminal law,” Wrask wrote in her memo.
That’s important because neither man has been convicted of a crime.
- Kevin McCallum ©️ Seven Days
- John Campbell
“You have engaged in discriminatory and harassing conduct toward staff and others relating to race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability and body composition,” the executive committee told Lavoie in a letter.
Lavoie was first hired as a deputy state’s attorney in Windham County in 1988. He has been a prosecutor in Franklin County since 2004. He took office as State’s Attorney February 1. He makes $127,254 annually.
His personnel file contains no complaints or disciplinary actions, according to the Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs' labor relations manager, Annie Noonan. Lavoie mentioned that on Tuesday, saying he found it "interesting" that the complaint had only come after he won an election.
His personnel file contains no complaints or disciplinary actions, according to the Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs' labor relations manager, Annie Noonan. Lavoie mentioned that on Tuesday, saying he found it "interesting" that the complaint had only come after he won an election.
Read the redacted report about Lavoie's conduct here:
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