Update No. 1: Williston Barracks / Request for assistance - suspect identified

 

STATE OF VERMONT 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 

VERMONT STATE POLICE 

  

CASE#: 26A1004529

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Detective Trooper Brandon Degre                         

STATION: VSP Williston                 

CONTACT#: 802-878-7111 

  

DATE/TIME: About 6:53 p.m. March 11, 2026

INCIDENT LOCATION: Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT

VIOLATION: Aggravated disorderly conduct, simple assault

ACCUSED: Colin Wesley Palmer

AGE: 24

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Burlington, VT

  

VICTIM: Vermont State Police 

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Waterbury, VT

 

  

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT: 

Through continued investigation, the Vermont State Police has identified the person of interest in this incident as Colin Wesley Palmer, 24, of Burlington.

 

VSP received multiple tips from the public, and troopers who were present March 11 on Dorset Street in South Burlington subsequently identified Palmer as the individual who smashed the state police van window as troopers were attempting to leave the area. Damage to the van was estimated at $500, and a trooper received an eye injury from flying glass.

 

Friday evening, June 26, 2026, the state police issued a citation to Palmer through his attorney, Robert Appel, on charges of aggravated disorderly conduct and simple assault. Palmer is due to appear for arraignment July 28 in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Burlington.

 

No additional information is currently available. The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following Palmer’s arraignment. Members of the news media should contact the Criminal Court Clerk’s Office to confirm details of the hearing.

 

 

***Initial news release, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, 2026***

The Vermont State Police is requesting assistance from the public to identify a man who smashed a window of a VSP van, injuring a trooper, during a confrontation at the end of a protest March 11, 2026, on Dorset Street in South Burlington.

 

The VSP van, occupied by multiple troopers and with its emergency lights activated, was preparing to leave the scene when an unidentified individual caused damage to the vehicle's rear window. One of the troopers inside suffered an eye injury from the broken glass. Photos of the suspect are attached to this release.

 

Two clips from VSP body-worn cameras that captured the incident are available at the following links: Clip No. 1 and Clip No. 2.

 

Anyone who has information related to this incident should call the Williston Barracks at 802-878-7111, email Detective Trooper Brandon Degre at brandon.degre@vermont.gov, or submit an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

 

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