By Mike Donoghue, Senior Correspondent
The state has dropped criminal charges of domestic assault and interference with a person attempting to seek access to emergency services against a veteran Windsor County police officer.
Deputy Sheriff Kristinnah Adams, 41, of White River Junction was due to go on trial this month in Vermont Superior Court, but a decision was made to drop the charges, court records show.
The misdemeanor charges stemmed from an incident with a juvenile girl and her possession of a cellphone, Hartford Police said.
Adams’ defense lawyer Michael Shane of Seldon Associates had maintained from the start the charges were bogus.
“These charges have been manufactured by interested parties. Ms. Adams is innocent of any wrongdoing in this case and that will be demonstrated in due course,” Shane told the Vermont Standard in June.
Shane did not respond to messages seeking updated comments this week.
Windham County Deputy State’s Attorney Lizzie Fainberg, who was asked to take over the case due to a conflict with the local state’s attorney’s office, also did not respond to a request for comment.
The defendant’s ex-husband, Jonathan Adams, a former Windsor Police sergeant, had brought the juvenile at 11:45 p.m. on June 11 to the Hartford Police Department where the teen filed a complaint about Kristinnah Adams, records show. The girl had been at the home of Jonathan Adams, 42, earlier in the evening and later with Kristinnah Adams, police said.
Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer told the Vermont Standard at the time he placed Adams on paid leave as soon as he heard about the investigation and met with her. It was unclear how long Palmer left Adams on paid leave.
Adams, who is a former Hartford Police sergeant, most recently has been serving court papers for the civil division in the sheriff’s department, Palmer said. She previously had worked on road patrols and court security, he said.
Palmer said he asked the Bennington County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an internal investigation in the case to determine if any department policies or procedures were violated.
Bennington County Sheriff James Gulley Jr. said this week that no policy violations were found following a thorough review by his department.
