By MIKE DONOGHUE. Senior Correspondent
At least seven law enforcement employees of the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department, including one that police say was involved in a fatal on-duty shooting in Springfield last month, have never been officially commissioned to work as deputy sheriffs, a Vermont Standard investigation shows.
Deputy Sheriff Bryan Jalava, who was hired in May 2024, was among those employees working as paid deputies for Sheriff Ryan Palmer, but their appointments were never formally filed with the Windsor County Clerk as required by state statute, according to a Vermont Public Records request.
Also, former Windsor County Capt. Paul Samataro, who served as the chief deputy for Palmer until a falling out on Aug. 23, never had his appointment, known as a commission, filed with County Clerk Pepper Tepperman, according to county records.
“I need to get my commissions up to speed, it sounds like,” Palmer said when asked by the Vermont Standard on Monday about his failure to file the proper paperwork for his appointments.
Vermont law states: “A deputy shall not perform an official act until his or her deputation and oath are filed for record in the office of the county clerk.”
Also, the final line of all the appointment documents the sheriff issues makes clear that the record must be filed with the county clerk before a deputy can go to work. “This commission must be recorded in Windsor County Clerk’s Office before the Deputy Sheriff is authorized to act,” the form notes. There is a $1 filing fee.
It is still unclear what, if any, legal liability Windsor County residents or the Sheriff’s Department could face from the Aug. 21 fatal shooting that involved both Jalava and a Springfield Police officer.
Also, it is unknown is what impact the non-recorded appointments would have on all the criminal and motor vehicle arrests made by those deputy sheriffs since Sheriff Palmer took over 2 ½ years ago.
The official appointment is normally signed off by the county sheriff, the deputy, and a notary public. The commission is eventually presented to the county clerk for the required legal recording in the county offices.
Tepperman, who has served as county clerk for 13 years, told the Vermont Standard this week that there were commissions on file for 23 current deputies in Windsor County and for three that had expired.
Several other County Sheriffs reached by the Vermont Standard said they would never allow any deputy sheriffs in their departments to go on patrol or conduct police business until their appointments were filed with their respective counties.
Orleans County Sheriff Jennifer Harlow, president of the state sheriffs association, was typical of the interviews. Harlow said as soon as she was sworn in for a new term on Feb. 1, 2024, she turned around and administered the oath to her deputies. The deputies signed them, and the commissions were notarized, she said. Harlow then had them presented to the Orleans County Clerk to make copies and record as an official document of the county.
Pepperman said she used the same process for former longtime Sheriff D. Michael Chamberlain and now for Sheriff Palmer. She makes a copy of the commission and files it in the county records. She said she gives the original copy back to the county sheriff for his office records.
Chris Brickell, executive director of the Vermont Police Academy, said it is essential for all the proper paperwork to be filed before police hit the streets. Brickell, who was police chief in Brandon for 13 years, said he had the officers sworn in by the Brandon Town Clerk, who would then file the oaths of office in the book containing municipal records.
Besides Jalava and Samataro, Windsor County has no records for Deputy Sheriffs Craig Watrous, Michael Keefe, Dillon Mock, Michael Fisher, and Derek Beagle, who are all listed on the department website.
Two of those five deputies – Watrous and Keefe — have been patrolling full time in Weathersfield, which disbanded its town police department and signed a $390,000 contract with the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department. The move came after Weathersfield Police Chief William Daniels was hired May 1 to replace Windsor Police Chief Jennifer Frank when she resigned.
Palmer, who took office Feb. 1, 2023, was required to issue commissions to all employees he planned to use as deputies for law enforcement purposes, including patrols, court security, and prisoner transports.
The public records response from Tepperman showed 23 deputies had their commissions recorded with the county clerk’s office in February 2023, but the Vermont Standard has learned at least five of the 23 are no longer with the department.
The Vermont Standard received a report last week that Jalava was back in uniform and was seen gassing up a cruiser with sheriff’s license plates. Palmer, in an email to the Vermont Standard on Friday evening, reported Jalava had returned to work, but classified it as “a limited capacity.”
Palmer confirmed on Monday that Jalava did work over the weekend at the World’s Fair in Tunbridge with other deputies. Palmer said Jalava also is serving civil paperwork.
He said there was nothing saying Jalava could not return from the sidelines while the case remains under investigation.
Jalava and a Springfield Police Officer, Vincent T. Franchi, both fired shots that are believed to have hit and killed James Crary, 36, of Newport, N.H., on the night of Aug. 21, according to Vermont State Police. Crary was not the wanted person that police were seeking that night at the Valley Street residence.
Jalava and Franchi were both placed on paid administrative leave by their respective law enforcement departments after the fatal shooting.
The Vermont State Police said Monday it is still investigating the fatal shooting. Both the Vermont Attorney General and a nearby State’s Attorney’s Office will be asked to review the case.
Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough disqualified himself from the case.
The Standard reported last month that Sheriff Palmer had severed ties with Samataro and longtime Administrative Lt. Thomas Battista on Aug. 23.
Pepperman said she has received no notifications from Sheriff Palmer revoking any commissions, even after she read in the Vermont Standard about the departures of Samataro, a 38-year police veteran, and Battista, a 23-year police veteran.
Vermont law says, “A sheriff may dismiss a deputy and revoke his or her deputation. Such revocation shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk and shall take effect from the day of such record.”
Another longtime deputy has confirmed he has been dismissed by Palmer after reports surfaced that the Sheriff was under investigation by the Vermont State Police.
Cpl. Tyler Trombley, a 14-year veteran with the sheriff’s department, said on Sunday he was fired by Palmer on Aug. 28 after the news story appeared in the Vermont Standard about the departure of Samataro and Battista. Chester Police has since hired Trombley as a full-time patrol officer.
Other appointed deputy sheriffs who have departed since receiving their commissions are Erick Robinson, Marc Preston, and Mark Belisle. No reason is known for any of them.
