Warren First Constable Gene Bifano told town officials that come July 2012 following a two-year extension of the state statute that mandates all part-time law enforcement officers complete 186 hours of training, constables’ enforcement powers will be limited without the certification.
Currently, constables still have power of enforcement. Bifano previously attended a five-day course at the Vermont Police Academy that covered firearms safety, use of force and extensive training on Fourth Amendment rights.
Bifano told select board members that, “Training is required and I think it’s essential and we should have it.”
Select board chair Andy Cunningham said, “There is the statute and there is what the select board is going to empower you to do.”
Campbell told town officials that the Washington County Sheriffs have invited the constables to do firearm training and that they would like to “get as much training as we can that’s available,” he said.
Select board member Bob Ackland asked the constables if they had “a clear sense of what you’re being ask to do?”
Campbell said the state police have called the constables 10 times in the last month and asked them to respond to calls.
Cunningham asked, “Have they asked you to do anything that you weren’t trained for or capable of?”
Campbell said that sometimes, “I don’t feel comfortable not carrying a gun.”
Bifano said that in addition to responding to domestic assault and burglary calls, he’s more of an “Andy of Mayberry” there to “take up the slack between what troopers can do relative to what needs to be done,” he said.
Currently, state troopers are understaffed, Ackland said, with two troopers covering 24 towns.
Select board member Anson Montgomery thanked the constables for volunteering their time. “I feel safe knowing that there are two people that are dedicated that can get there in 5 to 10 minutes; I could feel more comfortable with you going to a call and finding out it’s beyond your scope and doing your best to remove yourself and wait for backup,” he said.
“Vermont has wide open gun laws; I don’t feel like people are packing heat at soccer games and stuff, but I prefer to see you feeling safe and supported in your job without a weapon that could cause a death or accident to you or some other person,” Montgomery continued.
Select board member Kirsten Reilly said, “Sounds like you both have some different training under your belt and I think it depends on training on what you feel comfortable with.”
Ackland said, “You don’t need our permission to go on a call, but we’re setting a precedent here and putting you in harm’s way.”
Bifano said, “As firefighters, if a house is on fire we’re going it. That’s as dangerous as it gets, but the risk is based on your knowledge.”
Montgomery said. “I don’t know that we, the select board, have the ability to competently judge your ability, without some other agency having said this person can use a firearm.”
Cunningham said, “There are three pieces: proficiency with a weapon, knowing how and when to use a weapon and a psychological evaluation, and the people at this table aren’t here to do any of those things.”
Town officials discussed coming up with a police policy for the town to “set a bar,” Cunningham said, for elected constables to meet. The standard would rely on the state police or overarching body that would determine whether the part-time law enforcement officers are fit to carry a weapon.
Ackland said the process “is evolving, and we’re really learning as we go.”
Cunningham suggested writing up rules and responsibilities of the constables as well as a job description to be adopted by the town.
“For the last couple of years, people have been getting on the select board to do something about crime and the perceived notion that we have burglaries everywhere; these guys were elected constables to make a difference in their community. We took some money out of the sheriff’s budget and put it towards equipment and training for these guys. What we want to do is give them the tools to both physically and mentally handle what they’re doing. We want them to want to go to these calls, but they are not going to want to go if they’re not feeling comfortable,” Cunnigham said.
Reilly said, “The point of this is to be first responders; the incidents when we need first responders are probably the most dangerous.”
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