To report a crime, please contact your local police agency. For emergencies, call 911.

Our Staff

Name Number Rank Email
Joel Howard 102 Lieutenant jhoward@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Dave Whittle 105 Deputy First Class dwhittle@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Robert Lakin 109 First Sergeant rlakin@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Dana Shepard 112 Sergeant dshepard@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Fred Ziegler 119 Deputy fziegler@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Ashley Buffum 120 Deputy abuffum@ windhamcountyvt.gov
David Gaillardetz 121 Deputy dgaillar@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Nicholas Lawrence 122 Deputy nlawrenc@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Ian Tuttle 123 Deputy First Class ituttle@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Zachary Tarvit 124 Deputy ztarvit@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Richard Yastrzemski 127 Deputy ryastrze@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Jacob Cohen 128 Deputy jcohen@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Truman Southworth 129 Deputy tsouthworth@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Thomas Bessette 130 Deputy tbessette@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Mario Checchi 133 Detective Sergeant mchecchi@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Sharon Kennedy 139 Deputy skennedy@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Richard Levesque 142 Deputy rlevesque@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Jessica Perron 144 Office Manager jperron@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Jason Gagne 145 Communications Administrator / Deputy jgagne@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Stanley Wasilewski 146 Dispatcher swasilew@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Lisa Record 147 Per Diem Dispatcher lrecord@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Jacqueline Putzig 148 Dispatcher jputzig@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Jacquelyn Deedman 149 Civil Process Coordinator/ Dispatcher jdeedman@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Carri Guyer 151 Executive Assistant cguyer@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Ian Gallup 159 Corporal igallup@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Chris Norton 166 Sergeant cnorton@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Dave Eldridge 172 Deputy deldridg@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Michael Roj 175 Deputy First Class mroj@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Ashley Pinger 189 Animal Control Officer / Deputy apinger@ windhamcountyvt.gov
John Martin 192 Deputy jmartin@ windhamcountyvt.gov
David Robinson 200 Facilities Maintenance David.Robinson@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Sandy Boyd 241 Fingerprint Technician/ Dispatcher sboyd@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Isabelle Buckley 242 Dispatcher ibuckley@ windhamcountyvt.gov
Jason Willette 243 Dispatcher jwillette@ windhamcountyvt.gov

Awards

Medal of Valor

The Medal of Valor may be awarded to a sworn deputy who, in the performance of his/her duty in a situation of extreme danger to the Deputy, and where strong possibility exists that serious injury or death to the Deputy at the time, and the act of valor, bravery or courage is beyond normal expectations.


Sheriff's Cross

The Sheriff’s Cross shall be awarded to a sworn deputy, who in the performance of his/her duty was killed or sustained permanent serious bodily injury.


Distinguished Service Medal

The Distinguished Service Medal may be awarded to a sworn deputy who intelligently performs acts of outstanding personal bravery at imminent personal hazard to life under circumstances demonstrating a disregard of personal consequences.


Deputy Mark H. Dooley Award

The Deputy Mark H. Dooley Award may be awarded to a sworn deputy who demonstrates dedication, compassion, enthusiasm and initiative in policing. This award is limited to one deputy in a calendar year.


Sheriff's Star

The Sheriff’s Star shall be awarded to any employee upon honorable separation, including death, which has accumulated 20 or more years of service with the Windham County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Star may be awarded posthumously to a deputy who dies while employed by the Office, regardless of years of service.


Life Saving Award

The Life Saving Award shall be awarded to any employee who provides, or is directly responsible for, life saving actions for a condition of which a high probability exists that a person will suffer serious bodily injury or death without the employee’s intervention.


Deputy of the Year

The Deputy of the Year shall be selected based on excellent, unusual or continued dedication to the Office and to Windham County, as recognized by superiors, peers and the public as measured across the calendar year.


Dispatcher of the Year

The Dispatcher of the Year shall be selected based on excellent, unusual or continued dedication to the Department and to Windham County, as recognized by superiors, peers and the public as measured across the calendar year.


Sheriff's Merit Award

The Sheriff's Merit Award shall be awarded to a sworn deputy that has demonstrated unusual devotion to duty or valor, over a continual and recognized period of time.


Volunteer Service Award

The Volunteer Service Award shall be awarded to the top 10% of employees who volunteers their time in the performance of a coordinated Office event.


Distinguished Accomplishment

The Distinguished Accomplishment award shall be awarded to any employee, who provides an outstanding or meritorious service, product or program that reflects positively on the Office that demonstrates unusual thoroughness, conscientiousness, determination and initiative. It may be awarded to an employee who has performed an efficient and valuable service to the Office, either in carrying out a specific task or in the performance of general duties over an extended period of time, that wouldn’t be eligible for a higher award.


Exemplary Service Award

The Exemplary Service Award shall be awarded to any employee, who demonstrates exemplary service in job performance, citizen contacts, and overall attitude and has three occurrences or less of lost time in a year (excluding injured or maternity time) and no sustained disciplinary action for a period of two years.


Distinguished Employee Award

The Distinguished Employee Award is given to an employee who demonstrates unusual flexibility, positive attitude, commitment and professionalism to the Windham County Sheriff's Office over a continued period of time.


Five Year Service Award

Awarded to employees who have worked for the Windham County Sheriff's Office for five continuous years.


Ten Year Service Award

Awarded to employees who have worked for the Windham County Sheriff's Office for ten continuous years.


Fifteen Year Service Award

Awarded to employees who have worked for the Windham County Sheriff's Office for fifteen continuous years.


Twenty Year Service Award

Awarded to employees who have worked for the Windham County Sheriff's Office for twenty years.


Twenty Five Year Service Award

Awarded to employees who have worked for the Windham County Sheriff's Office for twenty five years.


Thirty Year Service Award

Awarded to employees who have worked for the Windham County Sheriff's Office for thirty years.


Thirty Five Year Service Award

Awarded to employees who have worked for the Windham County Sheriff's Office for thirty five years.


Fourty Year Service Award

Awarded to employees who have worked for the Windham County Sheriff's Office for forty years.



History of the Office of the Sheriff

The first of two important characteristics that distinguish the Office of Sheriff from other law enforcement units is its historical roots. In England, the sheriff came into existence around the 9th century. This makes the sheriff the oldest continuing, non-military, law enforcement entity in history. In early England the land was divided into geographic areas between a few individual kings – these geographic areas were called shires. Within each shire there was an individual called a reeve, which meant guardian. This individual was originally selected by the serfs to be their informal social and governmental leader. The kings observed how influential this individual was within the serf community and soon incorporated that position into the governmental structure. The reeve soon became the Kings appointed representative to protect the King’s interest and act as mediator with people of his particular shire. Through time and usage the words shire and reeve came together to be shire-reeve, guardian of the shire and eventually the word sheriff, as we know it today. The Office of Sheriff grew in importance with increasing responsibilities up to and through the Norman invasion of England in 1066.  The duties of the sheriff included keeping the peace, collecting taxes, maintaining jails, arresting fugitives, maintaining a list of wanted criminals, and serving orders and writs for the Kings Court. Most of those duties are still the foundation of the sheriff’s responsibilities in the United States. The responsibilities of the Office of Sheriff in England ebbed and flowed, depending on the mood and needs of kings and government. In 1215 the great document of freedom, the Magna Carta, was reluctantly signed by King John. This document had 63 clauses, 27 of which are related to the restrictions upon, as well as, the responsibilities of the sheriff. Through the passage of time, the English sheriff began to lose responsibility and power, and by the early 1800’s it became largely ceremonial, as it remains today.

The concept of sheriff, because of the vast British Empire, was exported to places such as Canada, Australia, India, and, of course, the American Colonies. In America, the office was modified over a period of time to fit democratic ideals. The Dutch settled the area called New Amsterdam (what is now New York City) in 1626. The Dutch version of the sheriff was called a “schout.” When the English claimed the land, the schout became the sheriff. In the other American colonies, following the pattern of English government, sheriffs were appointed. The first sheriff in America is believed to be Captain William Stone, appointed in 1634 for the Shire of Northampton in the colony of Virginia. The first elected sheriff was William Waters in 1652 in the same shire (shire was used in many of the colonies, before the word county replaced it.)

The sheriff’s office in America was much less social, had less judicial influence, and was much more responsive to individuals than the English Sheriff. The duties of the early American Sheriff were similar in many ways to its English forerunner, centering on court related duties such as security and warrants, protection of citizens, maintaining the jail, and collecting taxes. As the nation expanded westward, the Office of Sheriff continued to be a significant part of law enforcement. The elected sheriff is part of America’s democratic fabric. In 1776 Pennsylvania and New Jersey adopted the Office of Sheriff in their Constitution. The Ohio Constitution called for the election of the county sheriff in 1802, and then state-by-state, the democratic election of sheriff became not only a tradition, but in most states a constitutional requirement. In the United States today, of the 3083 sheriffs, approximately 98 percent are elected by the citizens of their counties or parishes. - National Sheriff's Association


Partners

State of Vermont
Humanity Scheduling
RX Drug Drop Boxes
VT Criminal Justice Council
Rehabs

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