A Rutland County sheriff’s deputy was ousted from the department this week after he sent racist text messages, an internal affairs investigation found.
In a group chat with other officers, former deputy Ryder Paskevich sent an image of officers in Klu Klux Klan garments taking Black people into custody, according to a Brady letter sent on Tuesday by Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan.
Paskevich admitted to the conduct before he was fired on Monday, according to the letter. Paskevich could not be immediately contacted, and his sheriff department email account had already been disabled by Wednesday.
Sullivan sent the Brady letter to the Rutland County defense counsel, including the defense attorneys of cases that the deputy was involved in. The U.S. Constitution requires the prosecution to disclose potentially impeachable evidence to the defense to “ensure that trials are fair (and) that sources of bias or exculpatory evidence can be explored,” Sullivan said.
Around a half dozen cases Paskevich was involved with have been discharged as of midday Wednesday, Sullivan said.
“We’ve already begun the process of reviewing cases he was involved in where he is a crucial witness,” Sullivan said. “We’re not anywhere close to done (with) the reviews, so this is affecting cases.”
One of the officers in the image Paskevich sent was depicted making “a statement to the effect of being able to tell they were all guilty by looking at them,” according to the letter. The picture referenced was not included in the letter. After Paskevich sent the image in the group chat, another officer responded, “that is racist and descriminatory [sic.] you bigot asshole,” according to the letter.
Paskevich deleted the messages, and all officers left the chat, the Brady letter stated. Paskevich’s conduct prompted officers to inform authorities in the department, who launched an investigation.
Rutland County Sheriff David J. Fox was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Paskevich’s messages violated internal department policy and the Vermont Criminal Justice Council’s Law Enforcement Officers’ Code of Conduct, Sullivan wrote in the Brady letter.
Defender General Matt Valerio said he could not speak to Paskevich’s case, but explained that a “Brady letter” — also known as a “Giglio letter” after a U.S. Supreme Court case — marks the “death knell for a law enforcement career.” This is because an officer’s reckless or intentional misconduct is “so egregious that it fundamentally impacts their credibility” in offering testimony in cases and enforcing the law, Valerio said.
Court cases that include testimony and evidence “material to the heart of the case” from officers with such letters should be dismissed, Valerio said.
The racist messages Paskevich admitted to run the risk of seeping into decision-making and use of discretion in cases, Rutland County NAACP President Mia Schultz said.
The conduct also “sets us back to rebuilding trust,” which is already fragile between law enforcement and marginalized communities, Schultz said, even as the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and advocates in the state are working to shift the culture around policing.
Paskevich’s termination and the reevaluation of cases he was involved in are both appropriate first steps to addressing the deputy’s misconduct, Schultz said. Accountability and building community trust, she added, requires ongoing work like continuing independent oversight, regular training and clear standards to establish a law enforcement environment where discriminatory behavior is not tolerated.
“The greater impact is on the community and how somebody is treated outside of those chats,” Schultz said. “Accountability is not about just removing that person. It’s about asking how this culture is allowed to exist in the first place.”
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