Vermont governor blasts three 'dumb' state troopers who were forced to resign over claims they made fake COVID vaccination cards
Vermont governor Phil Scott blasted three state troopers forced to resign over claims they created fake COVID vaccination cards.
On Wednesday, Scott said he was 'incredibly disappointed' over the allegations of the vaccination card scheme - but did not think the resigned state troopers accurately represented the Vermont State Police.
Scott's first question regarding the scandal was simply 'why?'
He said: 'It’s just a dumb thing to do, to be perfectly frank.
'It just makes no sense to me whatsoever.
'It's just such a simple thing to do, you get vaccinated, you get your card,' he said. 'You don't need to fabricate something.'
Vermont governor Phil Scott slammed three state troopers who were involved in a fake COVID vaccination card scheme
Former troopers Shawn Sommers, Raymond Witkowski and David Pfindel resigned after being caught in the scheme
Former troopers Shawn Sommers and Raymond Witkowski resigned Aug. 10, a day after a fellow trooper told supervisors about the alleged scheme.
Former trooper David Pfindel resigned Sept. 3 following further investigation, according to a state police news release.
'The accusations in this case involve an extraordinary level of misconduct - a criminal violation of the law - and I could not be more upset and disappointed,' Colonel Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, said in a release.
Sommers and Witkowski both joined the Vermont State Police in July 2016. Pfindel was hired in January 2014, police said.
All three troopers had connections to the Shaftsbury barracks in southwestern Vermont.
Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Michael Schirling said Wednesday there was no indication any other troopers or state employees were involved in the scheme, but the FBI is leading the investigation.
The FBI and Vermon Public Safety officials are investigating the allegations
Schirling said the decision to release the details of the case came earlier than officials would have liked because they received a question from the media about the case.
'Otherwise we would not release the information, even at this stage, because, as is typical in any federal investigation, the government has an interest in preserving the continuity of the investigation by not having it be public until it is concluded,' he said.
Officials have not publicly described the details of the alleged scheme, or how it was busted. It is also currently unclear if the three state troopers have lawyers.
The FBI is investigating the allegations and Vermont Public Safety officials are conducting a separate investigation.
The state of Vermont still holds one of the highest vaccination rates in the country with 77 percent of the population being fully vaccinated, according to Vermont Department of Health.
According to 24/7 Wall St, a total of 26,664 cases are in Vermont as of Wednesday with a 4.8% increase since August 31.
The site also revealed a total of 269 deaths with a 0.7% increase since August 31 as well.
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