Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer’s arrest on sexual misconduct charges has reignited legislative efforts to increase oversight of Vermont’s 14 elected sheriffs, who remain largely immune from external accountability measures.
Prosecutors say Palmer paid women to watch him masturbate and, in one case, have sex with him, then threatened the victims and encouraged them to lie to state police investigators. Palmer pleaded not guilty last month to charges carrying a potential 27-year prison sentence. A judge released him on conditions requiring him to surrender his firearms and avoid contact with his accusers.
State regulators suspended Palmer’s law enforcement certification last week, confining him to administrative duties. However, the sheriff has refused calls to resign, including demands from Gov. Phil Scott, and told reporters after his January 28 arraignment that he delegated daily operations to a subordinate while remaining in office.
“There’s a lot more to this story,” Palmer said.
The case highlights structural problems with sheriff oversight in Vermont. Unlike police chiefs who report to local officials, sheriffs answer only to voters and can be removed solely through legislative impeachment proceedings. Sheriffs are not required to hold law enforcement certifications, preventing regulators from forcing them off the job like other officers facing serious charges.
Palmer joins a troubling pattern of Vermont sheriffs refusing to step down amid criminal allegations. Former Addison County Sheriff Peter Newton remained in office after his 2022 arrest on physical and sexual abuse charges, serving until his term expired in January 2023. He later received two years’ probation after pleading guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct and simple assault.
Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore won election in November 2022 despite facing assault charges for kicking a detained man. After two mistrials led to dropped charges, Grismore remains in office despite calls for his resignation from the Vermont Sheriffs’ Association.
Other sheriffs have faced scrutiny for neglecting duties. Bennington County Sheriff Chad Schmidt acknowledged living in Tennessee for a third of two years while serving, according to 2022 VTDigger inquiries. Caledonia County Sheriff Dean Shatney distributed $400,000 in bonuses to himself and staff before stepping down in 2023.
These scandals prompted lawmakers to propose Proposal 1 during the 2023-24 legislative session, a constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to set qualifications for county elected officials. The measure would have required sheriffs to maintain active law enforcement certification, giving the Vermont Criminal Justice Council authority to remove bad actors.
The Vermont Sheriffs’ Association opposed the proposal, arguing it could enable politically motivated removals without due process. Senate Democratic leaders scrapped the measure after failing to secure 20 votes despite holding a supermajority.
“What prevented it was a relatively small group of Democrats who were very influenced by their local sheriffs to vote against it,” Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth said.
Sen. Ruth Hardy, who cosponsored the 2023 proposal, said Palmer’s case feels like “horrible déjà vu” involving “an elected law enforcement officer using his position of power to intimidate and harass and abuse women.”
Baruth said the Senate Government Operations Committee should prioritize the proposal next session. Senate Minority Leader Scott Beck agreed the issue deserves attention, saying “there’s something systematically wrong.”
Because constitutional amendments can only be proposed every four years, lawmakers cannot reintroduce the measure until 2027. Even if passed then, the earliest Vermont could implement such changes is 2030.
Palmer faces reelection this November, potentially offering voters the chance to remove him at the ballot box.
