BRISTOL — During March, Bristol police officers took part in training seven times, according to a recently released log for that month. That included training in responding to persons in mental health crisis at the Vermont State Police barracks and medical training with the Bristol Rescue Squad.
Officer Josh Otey attended the National Interdiction Conference training seminar in Reno, Nev., and received the Master Interdictor Certification from the National Criminal Enforcement Association.
Bristol police conducted 16 town-contracted patrols outside the police district during the month, including on Burpee, Hardscrabble, Lincoln, Monkton, Plank and Stoney Hill roads. On these patrols officers issued 12 speeding tickets, three tickets for stop sign violations and many warnings. On March 4, police escorted home a motorist who was experiencing a diabetic incident.
On March 5, during a town-contracted patrol of Burpee Road, police cited Nathan Louis Doty, 18, of Leicester for driving under the influence of marijuana. Doty was pulled over for an equipment violation at 10:49 p.m. Police allege that he and his passengers had been consuming marijuana in the vehicle while traveling on the roadway and the vehicle was filled with smoke.
A consent search of the vehicle yielded what police described as marijuana and items of drug paraphernalia. Doty was taken into custody for DUI and transported to the Vergennes Police Department, where he was evaluated by a drug recognition expert prior to providing an evidentiary sample of his blood for analysis. Doty was released with a citation to appear in court at a later date.
On March 26, during a town-contracted patrol of Burpee Road, police seized marijuana and issued a ticket for possession of marijuana after establishing probable cause and doing a consent search of a vehicle stopped for speeding.
In other action in March, Bristol police:
•  Seized marijuana from a 16-year-old Mount Abraham Union High School student on March 1 and issued the student a diversion notice.
•  Worked out of the resource office at Bristol Elementary School, interacting with students and teachers in the hallways and lunchroom on March 1.
•  Helped a Lincoln resident safely dispose of old ammunition on March 2.
•  Investigated suspicious persons believed to be casing a Bristol business on March 2.
•  Spoke with a teacher about chaperoning field trips, while working out of the resource office at Bristol Elementary School on March 3.
•  Attended a truancy meeting at MAUHS to work with a student with significant absences on March 3.
•  On March 4 at 1 p.m. checked on a student who had been brought to the Bristol Elementary planning room for disruptive behavior.
•  Received a complaint from a parent, who was concerned about how their child had been physically handled by staff at Bristol Elementary, leaving bruising on the child. From ongoing police investigation, it appears the child’s injury was consistent with efforts by staff to escort the student who was disrupting a class and resisting teachers.
•  Investigated a complaint about a person on the sex offender registry list who was living near a daycare on Devino Lane. Police found that Mark Hulett had been placed in an apartment complex within sight of the daycare and a short walk from Bristol Elementary and that aspects of Hulett’s placement violated the terms of his probation. Because of a number of technical errors, BPD had not been adequately notified that Hulett was living in Bristol. In response to BPD actions, the Department of Corrections moved Hulett out of Bristol. And Bristol Police Chief Kevin Gibbs began a follow up on the matter and will be seeking procedural as well as legislative changes.
•  Investigated a March 5 complaint that the generators at the fire station construction site on West Street were “running all the time.”
•  Began on March 5 a co-investigation with the Addison Unit for Special Investigations on an alleged sexual assault that occurred in the police district.
•  Checked on a man found sleeping in a vehicle left running in Eagle Park on March 7. Police found that the man was under the influence of drugs and had driven to the location with a civilly suspended driver’s license. Police issued a ticket for the license violation and placed the man into the care of a responsible adult.
•  Found a stray white and black husky near Rockydale Road on March 7. Police notified the dog warden and tried to find the dog’s owner. The owner finally reclaimed the dog, who had gotten separated from the owner while hiking Hogback Mountain.
•  Investigated a truck reported as stolen on March 7. The victim reported having received a fraudulent check, but police investigation revealed that there had been a bank error.
•  Met with the Bristol Elementary principal, while working out of the BES resource office on March 7, and addressed concerns about a sex offender living near the school. Police also helped escort a student in crisis to the planning room.
•  Responded to a medical alarm at a Liberty Street residence at 12:27 a.m. on March 8. Police found an elderly man on the floor, unable to get up on his own, and helped the man get back into bed.
•  Attended a follow-up meeting to assist a student with truancy issues at Bristol Elementary on March 8.
•  Met with the Bristol Elementary principal and staff and discussed ongoing issues involving a registered sex offender living near the school on March 8, and spoke with a student worried about the subject, while working out of the Bristol Elementary resource office.
•  Responded to a reported family fight at a Pine Street residence on March 8. Police obtained statements and documented injuries to turn over to the Addison County State’s Attorney’s Office, who declined to prosecute.
•  Assisted Vermont State Police with a reported vehicle break-in on the Bristol-Monkton road on March 8. The complainant reported hearing their car alarm and saw someone running from the residence southbound on Monkton Road toward Bristol. Police and troopers checked the area but didn’t find anyone.
•  Investigated a report of a female MAUHS student being harassed on Facebook. Police found that the harassment involved a family member and was not school related nor did the victim want police involvement.
•  Met with the Bristol Elementary principal regarding a sex offender living on Mountain Street and assisted with a non-compliant student on March 9.
•  Investigated a Main Street business reporting loud noise from an upstairs apartment on March 9. Police found all quiet and advised the complainant to resolve the issue with neighbors directly.
•  On March 11 assisted Williston police in locating and citing Stacy LaPointe of Bristol for leaving the scene of an accident. LaPointe reportedly backed into a fence in Williston, causing damage, and left the area.
•  Spoke at Tween Scene (an activity night held each month at the Starksboro Baptist Church for youth in grades five and up) in Starksboro on March 11. Chief Gibbs spoke about why he became a police officer and answered questions. Attendees were given a tour of the police cruiser and a ride around the church with the emergency lights on.
•  Responded to a complaint at 10:43 p.m. on March 11 of a tractor-trailer idling in the rear lot of Shaw’s. Police observed a tractor-trailer making a delivery to the grocery store. After completing the delivery, the truck parked in the lot for the night and idled in compliance with state law and local ordinances.
•  Assisted a Mountain Street resident concerned about Internet and phone safety on March 12.
•  Responded to a Mountain Street noise complaint on March 12 at 8:55 a.m. Police found that the noise was coming from a tractor-trailer parked at the Shaw’s grocery store, and the tractor-trailer operator said that he was leaving immediately.
•  Began investigating a reported shoplifter at Champlain Farms on March 12.
•  Interviewed a Munsill Avenue resident about a reported suspicious person soliciting funds for a charity on March 12, but were not able to locate the woman soliciting the funds.
•  Checked on three juveniles who were reportedly home alone at Blaise’s Trailer Park on March 12. Police found the three juveniles fine and in the care of a responsible adult.
•  Responded to smoke alarms going off at a Pine Street residence on March 13. The owner arrived while police were at the residence, and they found faulty batteries in two smoke detectors.
•  Visited with several students between lunch and recess, while working out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 14. Several staff members stopped in to visit and thank the BPD for its handling of a sex offender found to have been living nearby on Mountain Street.
• Met with a special educator regarding rewards for a student and discussed a safety matter with a staff member, while working out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 15.
•  Responded to a student refusing to turn over a knife at MAUHS on March 15. By the time police arrived, staff had already recovered the knife. No court action was taken.
•  Conducted a record check on a former Bristol resident for the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System on March 16.
•  Issued a parking ticket, visited with students and spoke with a staff member regarding a harassment complaint by a student, while working out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 16.
•  Investigated harassing text messages and threats being sent to a district resident from two unknown phones on March 16. Police follow-up continues.
•  Took a chocolate Lab dog found wandering on Route 116 to the pound, when the owner could not be identified, on March 16. The owner later claimed the dog and paid the required fees.
•  Investigated a reported shoplifting at Maplefields Irving on March 17. Police alleged that video surveillance showed that David B. Ambrose, 50, of Middlebury had taken a can of Twisted Tea, placed it under his sweatshirt, paid for his gas only and then driven away. Police also found Ambrose’s license to be criminally suspended. Middlebury police located Ambrose, and cited him for retail theft and driving with a criminally suspended license.
•  Discussed a bus incident involving an MAUHS student with the Bristol Elementary and MAUHS principals on March 17.
•  On March 18 began investigating a possible burglary at a Mountain Street residence where the resident had died.
•  Conducted a welfare check, on March 18, on a resident whose vehicle had been found abandoned in Waitsfield. The resident was OK.
•  Worked out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 18. Police met with a student in the planning room who was having discipline issues and worked with the staff to develop a reward plan for good behavior.
•  Responded to a fight in progress at a Main Street apartment on March 18. When police arrived, the parties to the fight were gone.
•  Helped a Bristol teen apply for the American Legion Law and Order Cadet Training Program. Chief Gibbs interviewed the teen and then signed the official endorsement for the application.
•  Responded to a reported theft of a coat, wallet and cell phone at a Main Street business on March 18. Police found that a theft had not occurred, but that a coat with the wallet and cell phone in it had been inadvertently taken by a reportedly intoxicated female. The coat, cell phone, and wallet were recovered and returned to the owner.
•  Assisted state police on March 19 in investigating a case of someone possibly leaving the scene of an accident and DUI in the Bristol/Monkton area.
•  Assisted state police in securing a crime scene at the Woodland Apartments off Lovers Lane on March 19.
•  Visited with staff and students while working out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 21.
•  Found a large pile of illegally dumped scrap metal at a Basin Street property on March 21 and contacted the Addison County Sheriff’s Department (which is assigned to follow up on illegal dumping and burning incidents with the Addison County Solid Waste Management District).
•  Investigated a report that a cell phone had been stolen from the girls’ locker room during an MAUHS sporting event on March 21. The next day, the complainant contacted the police to say that the phone had been found in the locker room and had not been stolen.
•  Notified the Vermont Department for Children and Families on March 22 about an MAUHS student found to be living out of his car in the MAUHS parking lot because he had no other place to go.
•  Received old medications from a non-district resident on March 22 and secured them for disposal.
•  While at Bristol Elementary on March 22 met with a student and parent to discuss assaultive behaviors and developed a plan with positive consequences.
•  Investigated a vehicle reported as suspicious and parked behind Merchants Bank with two occupants sitting in it and found that it was a government vehicle containing the honor guard for a military funeral about to take place at St. Ambrose Catholic Church.
•  Investigated a possibly fraudulent cash withdrawal from the National Bank of Middlebury on March 23. The investigation is ongoing, and court action is pending.
•  Worked at the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 23.
•  Participated in a sobriety checkpoint on Plank Road with state police on March 23. VSP cited one person for driving with a criminally suspended license.
•  Visited with staff and students and assisted a teacher with a small project while working out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 24.
•  Issued a diversion notice to an MAUHS student who had been found in possession of marijuana on March 24.
•  Responded to a March 24 report that an MAUHS student assaulted another student in an unprovoked matter. The parent of the accused student alleged bullying. Police action is pending.
•  Took a report from a New Haven resident on March 24 that he had lost his wallet at or near Cubber’s Restaurant. The wallet contained no cash but did have several IDs and documents. No wallet matching the description has yet been turned in.
•  Investigated possible vandalism at the dugout behind the 4-H riding ring on Liberty Street on March 24. Police found no damage, but told juveniles not to climb on the dugout roof and advised them to leave the area.
•  Served an abuse prevention order to a district resident on March 24.
•  Responded to an alarm activation at a downtown business at 12:21 a.m. on March 25. Police found and detained a male subject in the parking lot. But when the owner arrived and verified that no entry had been made, the male subject was released.
•  Worked out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 25.
•  While on patrol at the fire station construction site on March 26 an officer observed an open door, found a broken latch, possibly caused by the wind, checked the building and secured the door again.
•  Notified a supervising officer of the Vermont Department of Corrections on March 27 when a resident known to be on parole/probation in connection with a fatal crash was observed consuming alcohol in a bar in violation of parole/probation conditions.
•  Responded to a Kountry Trailer Park residence for a reported family fight at 1:19 a.m. on March 27. Both residents told police they were having a verbal argument, and police saw no evidence of a physical dispute.
•  Responded to Kountry Trailer Park at 1:28 a.m. on March 27 for a reported trespassing violation. While police were en route, state troopers stopped the suspect on Lovers Lane. Police contacted the complainant and found that the suspect, Timothy Joseph Williams, 27, of Middlebury, was on active conditions of release not to enter the Kountry Trailer Park. Police later cited Williams for violating his conditions of release.
•  Worked out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 28.
•  Assisted the VSP Major Crime Unit by delivering a death notification to a district resident on March 29.
•  Served an abuse prevention order at the request of Addison County Family Court and the plaintiff on March 29.
•  Fingerprinted a subject for an Addison Northeast Supervisory Union coaching position on March 29 and forwarded the prints to the Vermont Crime Information Center for analysis.
•  Undertook a quarterly sex offender registry check on eight Bristol residents and found all in compliance on March 29.
•  Found the front door to a downtown business unsecure at 12:15 a.m. on March 30 and secured the door.
•  Assisted Bristol Elementary staff with a student who had become disruptive in a classroom on March 30. Staff escorted the student to the planning room and helped the student calm down. A parent was called to take the student home.
•  Assisted a district resident locked out of her house on March 30 at 3:27 p.m. Police could not gain access without causing damage to the home, so the homeowner was put in touch with a locksmith.
•  Held a public forum on March 30 to address citizen concerns after a sex offender had been moved into the area without proper notification to the police department. Chief Gibbs explained the laws around sex offender requirements and solicited input from those attending regarding recommendations for legislative changes to strengthen reporting requirements and compliance checking.
•  Worked out of the Bristol Elementary resource office on March 31.
•  Assisted an investigator from the U.S. Department of State who was requesting information on a potential new employee on March 31. Police checked BPD files on the applicant and reported their findings.
•  Met with MAUHS staff and a parent of a student with attendance issues on March 31. The group worked on a plan to improve attendance with a probable role for police if attendance does not improve.