Randolph
Sheriff Bill Bohnyak said the contract would be for up to 25 hours of supervision and the possibility of some patrol work.
He said the details still are being finalized and it likely will be somewhat open-ended to meet the needs of Randolph. A written agreement could be signed shortly, with an expected start date on July 1, the sheriff said.
The Randolph department is facing the loss of its three highest-ranking officers. Police Chief Dan Brunelle resigned last month, Sgt. David Leighton retires at the end of the month and Sgt. Loretta Stalnaker is due to become police chief in Royalton in early July.
That leaves Randolph with two full-time patrol officers and two part-time officers to cover the police district, Town Manager Adolfo Bailon said. The police district is about 2.5 square miles in size.
He said the Selectboard has appointed a study committee to evaluate the future of police services in the community. Bailon said the study will include public hearings and could take six to nine months.
Bailon and Bohnyak said the sheriff’s department and Randolph have an excellent working relationship and plan to have flexibility in the agreement so they can make changes as needed.
Bohnyak has one of the most active sheriff’s departments in Vermont. He said his office has more than a dozen enforcement contracts in the county, and he has one deputy in mind to fill the temporary Randolph post.
With the three top people leaving, Bailon said, it seemed like an excellent time for a full police review. The Randolph police budget is about $595,000 a year.
The study committee consists of two people from within the district, two outside the district, two Selectboard members and the town manager.
Stalnaker currently is the acting chief, the third time she has held that position. She is stepping down on July 5 and is scheduled to become the police chief in Royalton starting on July 9. “I’m looking forward to the change,” said Stalnaker, an 18-year police veteran. She said Royalton is a bigger town and it is a great chance to rebuild a police department.
Royalton was rocked when a senior officer was arrested on charges of stealing drugs out of the evidence closet last summer. That officer is due for sentencing in federal court this summer.
The 50-year-old Brunelle left the South Burlington Police Department after more than 19 years there to take the top police job in Randolph. He stepped down last month and has since returned to the South Burlington department.
He was a sergeant making $75,254 when he left that force, and has been rehired at the rank of corporal, Police Chief Trevor Whipple said. His base salary now is $68,723, a decrease from the $72,000 he was making annually in Randolph.
“I missed being a street cop,” Brunelle said this week when reached at South Burlington Police, but noted, “I loved the community of Randolph.”
Whipple said both the police union and city management had to sign off on the return and the rank.
Brunelle came under heavy public scrutiny in August after accusations by his estranged wife that she had been assaulted.
Then-Washington County State’s Attorney Scott Williams filed two charges, but those eventually were dismissed. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office in February reviewed the case and cleared Brunelle of the claims. Brunelle’s lawyer, Craig Nolan, said the charges were groundless and should never have been filed. The town of Randolph allowed him to keep working while the charges were pending.
Brunelle arrived in Randolph with a reputation for fighting domestic abuse.
Brunelle also has served as a member of the Chittenden County Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force.
Mike Donoghue can be reached at vermontnewsfirst@gmail.com.