When the idea of town constables being armed was first discussed in Warren, select board members expressed healthy and prudent reservations about training, liability, judgment, etc.
Board members are to be commended for their willingness to research the matter and seek public comment on the issue. Nonetheless, the question of how and whether and by whose authority constables would be armed is unclear.
Consider these conflicting details and issues:
In Vermont, elected constables govern themselves and, like any Vermonter, are free to carry a gun should they choose to do so. Appointed constables work under the direction of the town select board. Elected constables, like elected town clerks or treasurers, run their own shows. The only control a town has over an elected constable is in establishing his/her budget.
Constables can and do seek out their own training – as has happened in Warren – but the select board notes that it has no way to provide oversight of the training or the aftermath.
A state law that goes into effect in 2012 requires all part-time law enforcement officers in Vermont to complete 186 hours of training; otherwise their enforcement powers are limited. Towns are expected to pay for that training.
So if/when constables are trained and armed, who will determine whether and when a constable is on duty or on call? Will these elected constables be paid for their on duty/on call time? Are there any other towns in Vermont with armed constables?
What are the duties of the constable? Can anyone call the constable for assistance and expect him/her to respond to a home, accident or scene?
At whose discretion does the constable then respond? His or her own? Some as of yet to be established “Town of Warren law enforcement officer protocol”?
Before anyone representing the town of Warren is “on duty” armed in the name of Warren citizens, there are a few more questions to be answered.
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