Vermont Cops in Trouble for Drinking Confiscated Beer

Source – No, it wasn’t craft beer. Two Burlington police officers are under investigation by their department after being accused of consuming beer they confiscated from minors.

The officers in December issued civil tickets to minors for underage possession of alcohol, but have been accused of failing to dispose the beer as required and consuming some of it while off duty, according to a Tuesday news release.

“We expect officers to document and dispose of confiscated beer, not consume it. Officers who do not process seized property in accordance with procedure are subject to serious discipline,” Chief Brandon del Pozo stated.

The investigation was triggered when other officers reported the alleged misconduct to their supervisors.

The accused officers have been assigned to administrative duty … The two 30 packs that the police have been accused of taking were a domestic brand, del Pozo said.

Let’s be honest and admit what the real crime is here: It’s not these guys drinking confiscated beer. It’s them drinking confiscated mass produced, national brand beer. That my fly in some states, but not in Vermont. To them, stealing a 30-pack is worse than getting high off the evidence locker fentanyl supply. If they were caught with some New England Double IPAs, some Imperial Porters or a case of Milk Stouts, there’d be no issue. Hell, if they were caught drinking Sip O’ Sunshines or Heady Toppers, they’d probably have made Lieutenant by now. That’s pretty much water to the flannel-wearing, Ben & Jerry-eating Bernie Sanders supporters up in Lake Champlain country.

I mean, that has to be the issue, right? Back when I was a kid – meaning, when I was still at the age where someone besides the Irish Rose had the legal authority to take my beers away – it was just a given that the cops who took them were keeping it for themselves. Everybody knew at least one cop and the running joke was that whenever they’d throw a cookout or a party of some sort, the beer was always an assortment 3/4 cases of low priced domestic beer. Bud Lights, Miller High Lifes, Nattys … the brands that were big with high school kids. It was considered a job perk. Compensation for having to put up with drunken teenaged lightweights like me and my friends. The rarest story I can remember was my friends getting stopped on the way to the Cape the day after prom and the Statie making them pour two cases of Lowenbrau down a storm drain. I always assumed that trooper was a 12 Stepper, otherwise he would’ve put those in his trunk and broken them out at his Memorial Day barbecue like every other cop.

So hopefully these two Burlington officers will get a stern talking to about drinking on the job. Then up their game to some nice Kolsch, Oatmeal Stout or Saison so they don’t embarrass the rest of the department again.