ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – The fallout continues following the wounding of a St. Johnsbury police officer during a standoff last week, and it has some raising questions about whether the state’s justice system needs further tweaking following judicial changes last year.
Scott Mason, the 38-year-old charged this week with attempted murder in the shooting of St. Johnsbury Police Capt. Jason Gray, has a lengthy criminal record including convictions for assault, drug dealing, and burglary.
Former St. Johnsbury Police Chief Tim Page says Mason shouldn’t have been out on the streets last week. “We need to ensure the safety of our citizens, again, and return to law and order. Right now, it’s mayhem,” he said.
Page, who worked with Gray at the department, took to social media this week to express his frustration. He says that since 2020, the pendulum of accountability has swung to the left and that legislative reforms dealing with bail, drugs, use of force, and police oversight have created an environment where there is little to no accountability for perpetrators. “The laws and policies of society — you can ignore them and there are no consequences. And a society with no consequences is mayhem,” Page said.
Vermont lawmakers say the law only gives judges so many options to hold alleged offenders without bail and that it’s a high bar to achieve to hold someone pre-trial. House Judiciary Chair — Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, agrees that lawmakers need to do instruct the courts to expedite repeat offenders. “We know who those individuals are and we need to prioritize getting those consequences for individuals who have multiple criminal charges,” he said.
But lawmakers say that adding more penalties like longer minimum sentences won’t improve public safety and that new changes approved last year to improve expedited cases in the courts still need to take effect. “It is the risk of being caught and certain and timely consequences,” LaLonde said.
Lawmakers will return to the Statehouse in a few weeks with Democrats no longer holding a supermajority. LaLonde suspects it won’t affect their work, as many bills last year were crafted by Republicans.
Page says he wants to see a plan from leaders to allow people to enforce the law and improve public safety. “We need to have honest discussions about very large problems in this state. It needs to be done civilly and together,” he said.
Captain Gray is still recovering from his injuries and Page says he was hoping to return home to St. Johnsbury Wednesday. Even then, he says his injuries are substantial and will require a long recovery