State’s Attorney Sarah George seeks assault charge against cop for response to spitting suspect

 

By Guy Page

The Shelburne Police Department has released footage of an incident for which State’s Attorney Sarah George wants assault charges brought against a police officer.

The video release is the latest action in a year-long dispute between George and Vermont law enforcement over her allegation of police violence in the case.

On January 23, 2022, Corporal Jonathan Marcoux arrested a young woman for allegedly operating her mother’s car without permission. Video shows the young woman was spitting at Marcoux as he placed her, handcuffed, into the back of the cruiser. Spitting on a police officer is considered assault under Vermont law. After the second visible spitting incident, Marcoux’s arm can be seen placed forcibly on the suspect’s neck and jaw.

“That’s what we call an assault on a police officer,” Marcoux can be heard telling the suspect. “You’re going to be charged with that as well.”

Shelburne Police released four separate videos of SPD cruiser and body cam footage. In all of the footage, Marcoux speaks calmly and professionally to the suspect, and there are no other apparent incidents of possible excessive force. The suspect continues spitting, apparent profanity, and profane gestures even when handcuffed.

State’s Attorney Sarah George, however, looked at the footage and concluded “there was probable cause to believe Corporal Marcoux committed simple assault,” she said in an August 18 “Giglio” a/k/a “Brady” letter of official reprimand. She noted she had asked the Vermont State Police to cite Marcoux for simple assault.

The State Police declined.

Giglio letters such as published by George have grown increasingly common. While state’s attorneys consider them essential to drawing attention to police violence, some police and their supporters see overuse of the letters as anti-police weaponization.

The ACLU-VT offers the following supportive explanation for the use of Giglio/Brady letters:

By way of background, the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland and the line of cases that followed it established that when police officers commit acts that undermine their credibility – including bias, lying, and theft – prosecutors are obligated to disclose that information to defense counsel.

To ensure they are satisfying these constitutional mandates, prosecutors’ offices across the nation have created “Brady lists” – lists of police officers whose credibility issues would likely undermine their testimony at trial. Brady lists are widely recognized as a best practice for protecting the integrity of the justice system.

In Vermont, there is currently no statewide policy governing Brady disclosures or statewide Brady list, and only one county prosecutor’s office (Chittenden County) maintains its own list. Instead, the general practice among state’s attorneys is to send Brady letters to their county’s criminal defense attorneys, noting that a particular police officer might have credibility issues. In some cases, where prosecutors believe an officer’s credibility issues will taint future cases, they may also send letters to the officer’s police department, noting that the officer’s cases will no longer be accepted for prosecution. At times, such a letter could be cause for termination.

Guy Page is publisher of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. Reprinted with permission.

Image courtesy of sarahforstatesattorney.com

17 thoughts on “State’s Attorney Sarah George seeks assault charge against cop for response to spitting suspect

  1. Well this seems to imply that it is now acceptable to spit on Sarah George– and there will be no consequences. This a great step forward for social justice.

  2. The suspect assaulted the officer and he was merely DEFENDING himself from the ongoing assault.
    Sarah George is vermin, and so is anyone who voted for her.

  3. Given Sarah Georges actions and decisions of the past I think it’s time that the US Attorney’s Office investigate her for prosecutorial misconduct. She is also violating the police officers rights by falsely attempting to charge him with a crime that didn’t happen. She further violates this officers reputation and credibility by issuing a Brady Letter based upon no evidence other than her own ability to do so with no recourse on behalf of the officer or the agency.

    Here again you have a victim (officer) being charged and nothing done to the accuser, if that itself isn’t a crime I don’t know what is. Why isn’t she being investigated?

  4. That could hardly be construed as hitting anyone, looked like he pushed her her head back so she couldn’t spit at him again. She should be charged with assault for spitting which may contain Aids, covid, strep or any number of other medical germs in his face. Mean while George gives criminals the freedom to commit crimes without consequence. Time for a law and order States Attorney not a soft on crime one we have.

  5. When you talk about an inept, Sarah George leads that pack, a person “assaults”
    a police officer and because he takes action on the perpetrator, State’s Attorney
    Sarah George wants to hold the officer accountable, now that shows the liberal
    mentality towards the police…………… pretty pathetic !!

    She’s lucky, any other person would have punched her in the face for spitting on them,
    this would be simple assault or defending yourself from a person who knows what germs
    she has, she acted like a rabid crack whore………………just saying !!

    Give the police Officer a medal, and lock the crack whore up, State’s Attorney Geroge !!

  6. She has a bias against law enforcement honed over her years, horrible choice for States Attorney,
    Example:
    http://www.truenorthreports.com/states-attorney-sarah-george-seeks-assault-charge-against-cop-for-response-to-spitting-suspect
    Additionally, she (and other “woke” attorneys) are using their position to be judge and jury on what laws to enforce and what laws not to enforce in the name of jurisprudence activism. It is simply Not their job. Their job is to enforce the law by prosecuting lawbreakers. This is her stance as reported:
    https://vtdigger.org/2019/07/07/amid-a-new-generation-of-prosecutors-sarah-george-stands-out/

    Apparently Gov. Scott appointed her, how come he can’t fire her?

    God help us….

  7. Sarah George is a privileged superior being. One of progressive Vermont’s elite. Was it not she who wanted a lake cleared for her daily water skiing routine? Craftsbury Lake I believe. What a waste of a human being she is.

    • Great Hosmer pond, actually. george was serving as Chittenden County State’s Atty in 2017 when she was also “spokesperson’ for a group of property owners wanting regulation of rowing sculls on this pond. george apparently is an avid water skier and these rowing sculls interfered with her activities on the pond.
      Clearly- the Hosmer Pond issue illustrates her elitist attitudes, and role as nomenklatura for Vermonts ruling class. Whether beholden to money or ideology, george has ensconced herself into nomenklatura status and will remain as useful idiot for the foreseeable future.
      I recall that the Shelburne Police Dept. has had personnel issues in the recent past, several Chiefs and Acting Chiefs and not enough sworn officers- george’s demands will only exacerbate Shelburne’s policing problems.

  8. So the current term used is rachete…women out of control. This has been going on for 1,000’s of years, the old school term is called odious…….we are teaching our children, boys and girls the wrong things.

    The sad part is, it’s not so uncommon, for men or women. There is a better way, the path is narrow, but far more productive and peaceful.

    Our youth are in for an unnecessarily difficult life, product of broken families, schools and most certainly churches.

    • Videos and police cams are essential for protecting our police, most every time the truth is brought to light, suddenly the officers for 99% of the time can be seen doing an excellent job under very trying circumstances.

      The news will only report one bad even, millions of times for weeks, months and years such that they can paint the entire police force as bad. This is the power of good propaganda; it takes a truthful event to paint a picture that is not true or representative of what is happening in the real world.

      Will this make VT Digger? 7 Days? Front Porch Forum? ….of course not. It doesn’t fit the “narrative”..aka propaganda schedule.

      • even = event

        Our youth have no training on how to identify truth from fiction. How to recognize propaganda. Critical thinking….we need a second helping, please.

    • Obviously, sarah george believes herself above the law- her role as ‘spokesperson’ for regulation on great Hosmer Pond in Craftsbury while serving as the appointed states atty. show her elitist attitudes and this Shelburne issue clearly shows her obedience to her donor class overlords.
      Consider the root issue of this incident: A teenage girl joy-riding in her parents car without owners consent, attains victim status, when after repeated spitting on a police officer, the officer restrains her. ms. george
      somehow judges the actions of the officer as assault, but the actions of the teen are not? george is one of the top reasons Chittenden County crime is increasing. Yet somehow, she was elected to her position in the nomenklatura. With elitist politicians such as George, the rule of law is lost in Vermont.

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