CLAREMONT, NH - Well, looks like this one slipped through the cracks. Last week, Windsor County (VT) Sheriff Ryan Palmer was relieved (at least temporarily) of his law enforcement certification after being accused of sexual misconduct. However, nearly 20 years ago, Palmer worked for the Claremont Police Department in New Hampshire, where he had a troubled tenure, according to the Valley News.
According to documents obtained from the Claremont PD, Palmer was hired as a patrol officer in September 2006 at the age of 19. Just over one year later, then-Chief Alexander Scott wrote to city officials requesting Palmer be fired.
“Palmer has repeatedly demonstrated incompetence and inefficiency, has failed to perform assigned duties, and has failed to observe the rules and regulations of the Claremont Police Department,” Scott wrote.
Palmer ultimately resigned from the department and received a positive referral from Scott; however, an end-of-probation review in October 2007 resulted in an overall evaluation of “needs improvement.”
The review, written by his then-supervisor, Capt. Mark Chase said: “It is clear he wants to be a ‘Cop,’ but it appears he has not grasp[ed] the serious part of the job and the responsibility that we have a[s] police officers. He constantly jokes around with other officers and has a sarcastic tone, which, when you get to know Ofc. Palmer, it is not offensive, but if you do not know him, it appears he is cocky or arrogant.”
In a memorandum addressing Palmer’s performance evaluation, Scott spoke of a four-month extension of his probationary period and added that his “performance will be monitored every week for the next four months to ensure that he matures into a competent, efficient officer.”
Palmer underwent approximately 800 hours of training in Claremont, and as of October 2007, had been a solo officer for three months. He “has fallen short of the expectations of an officer with this much training,” Chase wrote.
Among the issues cited was Palmer failing to turn “a couple of cases” into the prosecutor’s office.
“This is not acceptable,” Chase wrote. He added that Palmer “should concern himself with learning the job and applying himself to the job.”
In addition to the poor performance evaluations, Palmer was subjected to three internal affairs investigations into violations of department policy, both on- and off-duty.
The first incident involved an off-duty incident in August 2007, where Palmer “approached a juvenile whom he believed may be intoxicated” at a Cumberland Farms in Windsor, Palmer’s hometown, and allegedly asked the juvenile if he “would like to make some money.”
The two discussed marijuana, and when the juvenile displayed marijuana to Palmer, he told him he was a police officer, leading the juvenile to flee. Palmer pursued on foot, caught him, and brought him back to his car. Palmer called the police, who arrived shortly after.
Palmer was suspended two days without pay for that incident after the department found he violated department policy on arresting outside of his jurisdiction, not immediately reporting his observations to police before making an off-duty arrest, and for his “attempt to purchase drugs, which is not authorized as a member of the Claremont Police Department.”
In October 2007, another internal affairs investigation into Palmer was launched, stemming from an incident where he allegedly violated department policy by not completing a written report involving ammunition seized from the bedroom of a juvenile upon the request of concerned parents.
Instead of immediately filing the report, Palmer worked an additional three shifts and then left on “an extended vacation,” returning nearly a month later.
Moreover, Palmer forwarded the case to another officer without informing his supervisors and instructed the officer to delete the record of the ammunition seized by the police department, writing, “This was just a juvenile issue; parents wanted advice; no crime was committed.”
For failing to comply with department policies during that incident, Palmer was suspended for one day without pay.
Finally, a month after his probation was extended, a third internal investigation was launched against Palmer, this time following an incident in which a Claremont police officer filed an excessive force complaint against Palmer following an incident in which the complaining officer was booking an individual for DUI.
A booking video and transcript showed the arrested subject becoming increasingly agitated as the arresting officer didn’t address his requests to use the bathroom. At one point, the arresting officer drew his taser, but didn’t deploy it.
The arresting officer called for assistance, and when Palmer arrived, he asked the arrestee, “You want to play games?”
After a back-and-forth between Palmer and the suspect quickly escalated, both officers took him down.
An investigative report filed by Chase requested that Scott place both officers on administrative leave. It was unclear if any disciplinary action was taken against the other officer, the Valley News reported.
The investigation found that Palmer violated numerous Claremont Police Department policies, including those on use of force, code of conduct, and code of ethics.
Five days after the incident in question, Palmer was “placed on unpaid administrative leave pending formal termination proceedings” by Chief Scott.
After being placed on leave, Palmer returned his weapons, badges, uniforms, duty equipment, and a Taser that held two cartridges; however, only one was returned. Two weeks later, Palmer said he could not locate the cartridge when asked to return it.
He resigned on Nov. 15, 2007.
Palmer was arrested last month in connection with sexual misconduct and stalking charges, according to VTDigger. He pleaded not guilty in Rutland County Superior Court during his arraignment. That came one day after the Vermont State Police announced that Palmer was summoned to court to face charges following a months-long probe that began as an investigation into the sheriff’s department finances.
Three women came forward and made allegations against Palmer for incidents that occurred from September 2024 through last year.
According to the women, Palmer paid them to watch him perform a sex act online or in person, and that he later stalked two of them by repeatedly driving by them in his police vehicle after they cut off contact with him, which included blocking him by phone and on social media accounts, a police affidavit stated.
The filing included images showing Palmer in his cruiser at locations where the two women were present, including a parking lot where one of the women worked.
The filing included images of online messages between the women and Palmer, as well as images from accounts showing payments to them by Palmer.
One of the women told police that after Palmer paid her $100 to watch him perform a sex act, she told him that he had just “broke[n] the law," the affidavit stated. The woman said Palmer replied to her, “So did you,” according to the affidavit.
Palmer pleaded not guilty through his attorney to seven charges, including lewd and lascivious conduct, two counts of soliciting prostitution, two counts of aggravated stalking with a deadly weapon, and two counts of obstructing justice.
The presiding judge, Cortland Corsones, didn’t find probable cause for four other charges sought against Palmer, including two counts of compounding a felony and two counts of making false claims.
Deputy State’s Attorney Jared Bianchi said he will work to correct the paperwork related to the dismissed charges and seek to refile them.
No bail was set for Palmer; however, Corsones imposed several conditions on him, including prohibiting him from contacting certain witnesses and from possessing a firearm.
WCAX-3 reported that Palmer’s law enforcement certification was revoked by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council last Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott reiterated his calls for Palmer to resign.
“From what I’ve seen and read, he’s lost the trust of the folks in Windsor County, and he should step down,” Scott said.
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