Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident complains of 45‑minute police response after intoxicated person slept on porch
Summary
Heather Jewett told the select board she and neighbors waited about 45 minutes for Vermont State Police to respond after a drunken person passed out on her front porch; she urged more local safety measures and suggested recruiting volunteers or a neighborhood watch.
Resident Heather Jewett used the meeting's visitors period to describe a home‑safety incident in which an intoxicated individual passed out on her front porch. She said she called police, recorded the incident on a Blink camera, and that a state trooper took about 45 minutes to arrive. "It took 45 minutes to get the state trooper to our house," Jewett said, and she said the delay worried her because she was home alone with a dog at the time.
Board members discussed constraints on local police coverage, including regional staffing and dispatch information flow. One board member recommended contacting Lieutenant Michael Cameron at the Saint Albans barracks for further explanation of the delay; another noted Sergeant Hunt is the member assigned to Bakersfield. Members also discussed community responses such as volunteer neighborhood lists, but cautioned about liability and the line between volunteer assistance and law‑enforcement functions.
