The stand-off involves an incident wherein an off-duty Vermont State
Police trooper was clocked driving 133 mph on Route 91 in October 2008.
The trooper was driving an unmarked high-performance police cruiser in
mid-afternoon when he was videotaped by the Vermont Public Safety
commissioner. The following May, the trooper was fined $1,036 in fines
and court costs.
The Burlington Free Press requested disclosure of a copy of the
speeding ticket and the dashboard videotape of the incident. The state
police have refused full disclosure, arguing that traffic tickets and
accompanying video are not public records.
Really? The Valley Reporter and all Vermont media outlets have
the option to sign up for a Vermont State Police listserv which provides
emailed press releases from all state police barracks for all
infractions.
These releases are issued whether you slide off the road in glare ice,
cause or have an accident while texting or driving under the influence
-- or, in a press release issued over the past weekend, drive 103 mph on
a state highway and lose control of your vehicle.
Furthermore, the number of points on anyone's driver's license can be
obtained from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. If you protest a
traffic ticket it takes place in an open and public court. If you are
stopped for speeding it takes place on a public road.
How then could the speeding ticket and the attendant data be considered
private? The Vermont Police Chiefs' Association has taken the position
that traffic tickets are considered public records, along with at least
one Superior Court judge.
The DUI stop of Vermont auditor Tom Salmon was made public by the state
police. The speeding stop of Vermont Governor-elect Peter Shumlin was
made public by the state police. Defense attorneys can purchase copies
of DUI video made by the state police. To argue that the trooper's
ticket and video are not public documents is a difficult legal argument
to make and one that smacks of protectionism and a cronyism that is out
of character with the normally impeccable standards of the Vermont State
Police.
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