Windham County Sheriff's Department
~ Breaking News ~

By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN, Reformer Staff
Brattleboro Reformer

The Bellows Falls Village Trustees this week approved interim Police Chief John Dunfee's proposal to charge people who report to the station, under court order, to take the breath-alcohol tests.

The Bellows Falls Police Department will charge $10 every time the test is given.

But Matthew Valerio, Vermont's defender general, said the department has no jurisdiction to charge people for the court-ordered tests.

"Unless the court says they have to pay, they don't have to pay," Valerio said Friday. "The bottom line is that it is a court-imposed condition and they can't do it."

Other law enforcement agencies have stopped giving the tests but Valerio said he had never heard of police or sheriff's departments charging for the service.

"These people are not convicted, and may never be and the Bellows Falls Police Department does not have the statuary authority to unilaterally charge people," said Valerio. "Other states have tried this and it has been a colossal failure. Ninety-five percent of the people in the system are indigent and they don't have the money to pay for the tests."

If someone is under investigation for any of a variety of charges, and the court orders a daily breath-alcohol test, the State's Attorney's office can prosecute a suspect for violating conditions of release if a breath test detects alcohol.

But Windham County State's Attorney Dan Davis said he did not have a plan for what might happen if someone walks into the Bellows Falls office and fails to pay for the test.

"I have no intention of issuing a violation of condition for failing to pay," Davis said. "That is not a violation of state law."

Davis said, however, that his office and the police department were wading out into uncharted waters.

"I don't know if the police will really cease giving the tests or not," Davis said. "I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."

Dunfee stressed that the department was going to stick to the trustees' decision and he said that starting Monday, the tests will not be given to newly charged suspects without the $10 payment.

"No law says we can, but no law says we can't," Dunfee said. "It seems to be a gray area but the board voted on it, and if there is no money, then there will be no test."

There are usually between 20 and 30 tests given a day at the Bellows Falls station, Dunfee said.

Only about one-third of those tests are given to Bellows Falls residents, according to Dunfee. The others are given to Vermonters who live near Bellows Falls and have the court-imposed restrictions.

"The trustees voted and everything is coming down to cost or operations," said Dunfee. "The purpose is not to get people violated but to try to absorb costs."

Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reform-er.com or (802) 254-2311, ext. 279.