Former Deputy of Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department Faces Misconduct Allegations

The Council has published a notice indicating that possible sanctions against Griffin could include the permanent revocation of his law enforcement certification.

A former deputy of the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department, James Griffin, is under scrutiny for allegedly creating trading cards featuring images of individuals who were arrested during his tenure with the agency. The Vermont Criminal Justice Council has announced a hearing to address these misconduct allegations.

The Council has published a notice indicating that possible sanctions against Griffin could include the permanent revocation of his law enforcement certification. The details concerning the hearing emerged earlier this month, and Griffin did not have legal representation listed in the hearing documents. Attempts to contact him for comments have been unsuccessful, including an unreturned email.

The allegations against Griffin suggest that he accessed sensitive law enforcement video and images without authorization. Investigators discovered 34 trading cards on his work computer, 15 of which highlighted suspected criminals. The images used for these cards were taken from booking photos, an internal law enforcement database, and still frames from videos recorded in holding cells.

In January 2024, Griffin formally resigned from his role within the sheriff's department, with his resignation taking effect the following month. His exit occurred against the backdrop of an investigation probing an altered body-worn camera video uploaded to TikTok, featuring a suspect he had apprehended for domestic assault. This edited video allegedly distorted the original content with the intent to ridicule the person involved. Evidence indicated that the video was downloaded at Griffin's request.

During the internal affairs investigation, Griffin acknowledged that the body-worn camera footage originated from his equipment. However, he could not adequately justify his access to the footage after the related criminal case had been dismissed in September 2023. Initially, he denied constructing any mock trading cards but later claimed that any such cards he may have created were intended for co-workers. During the investigation, a file labeled Trading Cards was found on the computer assigned to him.

Additionally, it has been reported that physical copies of these trading cards circulated among the sheriff's office, with multiple personnel confirming that Griffin had shown them some of the cards. Despite inquiries, the document related to the hearing does not include images of the alleged trading cards.

Sheriff Roger Marcoux has decided not to comment on this matter. Christopher Brickell, the executive director of the Vermont Criminal Justice Council, stated that Griffin is not serving as a law enforcement officer at this time. Brickell explained that the extended timeline before the hearing was due to various factors, including the completion of the internal affairs investigation and the prioritization of other active law enforcement cases. The hearing for Griffin is scheduled for November 17, although it is currently designated as a contested case, which may evolve before the designated date.