Illegal Immigrants Taken Into Custody in Vermont Traffic Stop; Governor Demands Investigaton- of State Trooper

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin demanded an internal probe of the State Police stemming from traffic stop on Interstate 89 in Middlesex, VT involving two illegal aliens who were taken into custody this week.

After reading this account from the Burlington Free Press, I'll let you guess Gov. Shumlin's political affiliation.

Gov. Peter Shumlin on Tuesday night ordered an internal investigation of a Vermont State Police traffic stop earlier in the day involving migrant farm workers that later led to a protest at the Middlesex state police barracks.

Two passengers were detained in the traffic stop on Interstate 89, including a leader of the Vermont Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project.

“The governor is concerned by accounts of the incident and ordered an immediate internal investigation to determine the facts of what happened and if Vermont State Police bias-free policies were followed,” a news release issued by Shumlin’s office stated.

How exactly does 'bias-free policing' work, anyway? If a policeman pulls over a motorist wearing a Lone Ranger Mask, Hamburglar shirt and bags marked with dollar signs next to him, does he refrain from asking the motorist a few basic questions for fear of having some sort of 'bias' complaint lodged against him?

Vermont State Police Director Tom L’Esperance said a state trooper stopped a vehicle for going 88 mph on the interstate in Middlesex. The trooper followed the vehicle for a short distance before pulling it over, police said.

During the traffic stop, the driver provided valid identification and faces a civil citation in connection with the vehicle’ speed. But the trooper became aware that two of the passengers might not have been in the country legally, L’Esperance said.

The two passengers taken into custody were determined to be in the U.S. illegally, said Mark R. Henry, operations Officer at the Swanton Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol.

They were later processed at the U.S. Border Patrol station in Richford, Henry said. Henry said both men — whose names and nationalities were not made public – were most likely to be released with an order to appear for a hearing at a later date.

I find it quite telling that the Vermont State Trooper in question did nothing out of the ordinary, yet Gov. Shumlin demanded a probe of the traffic stop that very day. In 49 other states, I think what that State Trooper did would be considered basic police work.

Good to see that in less than a month, Vermont has sufficiently recovered from the worst flooding in nearly 80 years for the good governor to investigate why the State Police are doing things like pulling over speeding motorists and taking people who are in violation of the law into custody.

Don't worry- it gets even better!

After the traffic stop, state police took the two suspects to the Middlesex barracks, where an incident took place involving supporters of the men who were in the car. When the Border Patrol attempted to leave with the two illegal-immigration suspects, five people attempted to block the federal officers, state police said. Troopers ordered the individuals to move, and three did not, police said.

Those three individuals were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct. The individuals are accused of forming a shield, said Capt. Dan Troidl, commander of Troop A, which covers five northwestern counties.

I'm guessing that at some point during either the traffic stop or at the Middlesex barracks, the phrase 'Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?' was uttered- and not by anybody in uniform.

Well, the good news is that the Governor of Vermont's term lasts two years instead of the four years that is typical in most other states, so Shumlin could be looking at an ouster for this Bloomberg-caliber micromanaging as early as next year. The bad news is that this is Vermont, and odds are enough people will either see no problem with this or think Shumlin didn't go far enough that he will remain safely ensconced in Montpelier after November 2012.