Former St. Albans police officer banned for life from police work in Vermont

A former St. Albans police officer was disbarred from the state police force after he punched a handcuffed woman in the face and was convicted of assault.

The Vermont Criminal Justice Council last week approved an agreement that will result in the permanent revocation of the license of Jason Lawton, who is no longer involved in law enforcement, according to council records. Lawton has not contested the revocation.

The council’s vote was unanimous, said Christopher Brickell, deputy director of the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council, on Friday.

According to a video of the March 2019 encounter that led to the revocation of her license, Amy Connelly was in a holding cell at the St. Albans police station with her hands handcuffed behind her back.

At one point in the video, Connelly can be seen standing up and appearing to lift a leg toward Lawton. The video shows Lawton shoving her onto a cell bench, grabbing her by her shirt around the neck and punching her in the face.

Lawton and two other officers then push her face first to the ground and put leg shackles on her.

“You are beasts,” Connelly is heard telling the officers.

Connelly was subsequently taken by ambulance to Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans and treated for injuries to her face and bruising around her eye, according to court records in the case.

“Upon review of the incident,” Vermont Criminal Justice Council records state, “the internal investigation determined that (Lawton’s) actions were excessive, unnecessary and a disproportionate use of force considering all of the circumstances.”

Lawton was sentenced to three to six months in prison in December 2022 after pleading guilty to simple assault.

The permanent revocation of Lawton’s certification in Vermont will be recorded in national law enforcement databases.

In that case, according to council records, he must also provide a copy of the consent order to any “law enforcement agency with which he applies for employment” in “any location or jurisdiction in which he applies.”

So far this year, the council has disbarred three Vermont police officers, and according to council statistics, a hearing in another case is scheduled soon.

In 2023, statistics show, the Council revoked the licences of six officials and one official received a reprimand.

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