News

Sorrell picked to lead law enforcement council

By Eric Blaisdell
Staff Writer
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Gov. Phil Scott has appointed former Vermont attorney general William Sorrell to serve as chairman of the state’s Criminal Justice Council.

The council, formerly known as the Criminal Justice Training Council, was modified under Act 166, which went into effect in October. The law doubled the amount of council members from 12 to 24 and dropped the “Training” part of the title because the council deals with other matters such as professional regulation, among other changes.

The law stipulates the governor must pick a chairperson who does not have a connection to law enforcement. Scott chose Sorrell, who served as the state’s longest tenured attorney general, from 1997 to 2017. Also, he has served as Chittenden County state’s attorney and as secretary of administration under then-governor Howard Dean.

Rebecca Kelley, representative for the governor, said in a Thursday email about Sorrell’s appointment, “He is someone who sees opportunities to improve policing and strengthen law enforcement relationships in communities, and whose experience gives him an understanding of the limitations of the previous use of force and other law enforcement policies.”

Sorrell said in a Thursday interview he met with Scott and the governor’s legal counsel virtually a week before Thanksgiving.

“We had a nice conversation, and at the end of it I told him if he wanted me to, I’d be honored to do it,” he said.

After stepping down as attorney general, Sorrell said he joined Vermont Law School as a visiting scholar and spent a month giving talks and lectures about environmental law in China. Recently, he said he’s been working as a national consultant for the multinational conglomerate 3M. Sorrell said he hadn’t been following state politics much after leaving office, but then those at the governor’s office reached out about the council position.

His father, Tom Sorell, served as a U.S. marshal for Vermont. He grew up around law enforcement.

Sorrell said there’s much to be done during his three-year appointment.

There has been a national call for increased transparency in law enforcement and what a police officer’s role looks like after high-profile killings of Black people by police earlier this year. He said the council will have much to say about how law enforcement currently functions as the culture changes.

He said what law enforcement looks like in the state can change depending on what department someone is dealing with or what county they are in. He said the council will work on creating uniform policies for things such as use of force, body cameras, drones, and if and how facial recognition will be used.

Sorrell said the Legislature is concerned about officers with a “checkered past” moving around to other departments within Vermont and to other states. So he said the council maintains a registry of complaints against officers.

The council will continue to work on how law enforcement officers are trained, as well.

“It’s a several-year project and an important one,” he said.

The council is composed of representatives from multiple state agencies as well, law enforcement associations, the Human Rights Commission, the Center for Crime Victim Services, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and the Vermont Network, a domestic and sexual violence coalition in the state.

eric.blaisdell @timesargus.com

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