ACLU launches database to track problem officers

The ACLU announced Wednesday that it is launching the state’s first database to track law enforcement officers whose credibility has been questioned by state prosecutors. 

Prosecutors are required by state law and U.S. Supreme Court precedent to tell defense attorneys about potentially dishonest officers involved in criminal cases. The Supreme Court set the precedent in 1963’s Brady v. Maryland, which established the term “Brady letters” for cops whose actions have included lying, bias or theft. 

The ACLU launched an investigation into the use of Brady letters in Vermont as part of its “Your Vote, Your Prosecutor” campaign. The probe built off of VTDigger’s Tarnished Badge investigative series from 2020, the ACLU said.

The ACLU’s investigation once again raised questions about the effectiveness of prosecutors’ practices of reporting police officers, prompting the creation of the new database. 

The database, accessible on the Vermont ACLU’s website, will track Vermont officers with Brady letters filed in their name, including access to the Brady letters themselves. There are currently 60 letters posted or referenced, 51 of which were written since 2016. 

The ACLU will also track the number of Brady letters filed by each state’s attorney. 

“The ACLU is concerned that Vermont’s state attorneys are not doing all that is required to ensure that officers with credibility or bias issues are flagged,” said Jay Diaz, general counsel for ACLU of Vermont.

The ACLU found that approximately 80% of Brady letters filed in Vermont were filed after 2018, while precedent for these reports has been in place for nearly 60 years. The investigation also found that state prosecutors in Lamoille, Franklin, Grand Isle and Orange counties apparently have never filed a Brady letter. 

“It’s important that attorneys commit on a statewide basis to fulfilling their obligations so that we have equal justice and so that the justice system itself is equally fair in every county,” Diaz said. 

When officers change jobs, there is currently no system in place that alerts new employers of past credibility issues. The new ACLU database would force past credibility concerns to follow officers throughout their careers, leading to more accountability for officers’ actions, the ACLU said. 

The ACLU investigation also found that prosecutors rarely go out of their way to find possible cases of wrongdoing, focusing instead on cases covered in the media or information offered by law enforcement agencies. The ACLU said that could encourage agencies to hide cases of wrongdoing in order to avoid the credibility of its officers being questioned. 

State laws and the precedent from Brady v. Maryland require state’s attorneys to actively investigate the records of law enforcement witnesses so any credibility issues can be disclosed to any court they testify in.

“From our investigation, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence that this is happening, and the evidence we do have suggests that it is not,” Diaz said.

Diaz hopes that the creation of the database will enable Vermonters to be informed about their law enforcement officers and state’s attorneys, and any credibility issues those officials may have.

A Brady letter can be the death knell to an officer’s career since prosecutors often won’t take cases investigated by an officer receiving a Brady letter, or even call them to the stand to testify.

Legislation that would have had the state form a central repository for Brady letters was watered down last session to form a study on the issue instead. Law enforcement officials told lawmakers any legislation needed to provide a way for officers to challenge their inclusion on the list and to be removed from it if an allegation that had been made against them later was proven not to be true.

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