Oh boy, a cop scandal of our very own. And thankfully, it doesn’t involve shooting someone dead on little or no pretext. Just a digital cornucopia of hate speech from one of Vermont’s Finest.
The Vermont State Police is investigating one of its own for material that the trooper posted to social media.
One of the latest Facebook posts from Cpl. Jon Graham’s personal page is an article from Right Wing News. A photo of a smashed Virgin Mary Statue. And a comment from the trooper reading, “and these animals will kill you if you speak badly of Mohammed….tolerance.”
…The posts go back years, seemingly undetected by state police. Some allegedly penning his thoughts like one from 2014, “was just behind a Prius with a Bernie Sanders 2016 sticker…oh how I wanted to spin her vehicle out.”
Others make comments about actual crimes, “Officer involved shooting in Windsor tonight…officer okay…scumbag in hospital…as it should be.”
More specifics in a moment. First, though, a couple of notes that cut to the heart of the problem.
— Graham has been a state trooper for 15 years.
— He’s been posting hateful, racist, sexist stuff on Facebook for years. And his bosses never noticed?
WCAX apparently reported the story first; they note that the Vermont State Police do hae a social media policy which says, in part, that troopers “shall conduct themselves in such a way as to ensure that their speech… does not reflect poorly on the department.”
So who’s enforcing this policy, if anyone?
Makes you wonder if we’ve got any other clueless bigots carrying guns and Tasers on our behalf.
VSP Chief Tom L’Esperance is promising a thorough investigation. Hopefully that’ll also include a thorough review of VSP’s social media policy and how it’s enforced. Or isn’t, as the case may be.
Now, Graham’s Facebook page has been wiped. But a concerned citizen, who appears to be the person who discovered Graham’s Facebook page and notified the VSP, has saved a bunch of screenshots. Here’s a few for your viewing pleasure.
Several recent posts are about Bruce Jenner coming out as transgender, and they’re just as hateful as you might expect. A reference to undergoing a “dickectomy,” plus this, among other things:
Here’s a nice little sample of Graham’s ethnic sensitivity.
And finally, the ironic cherry on this shit sundae:
Yeah, corporal — or should I say soon-to-be-ex-corporal? It’s amazing how stupid some people can be about social media.
The Vermont Political Observer. 
So this Trooper can save a life, arrest hundreds of people for drunk driving and arrest many that broke into your homes, but god forbid he posts things on HIS facebook you all have problems with it. Hers a great idea, how about if you dont like what he posts just dont read it.
His Facebook posts were in clear violation of VSP policy. That’s all you need to know.
and when you find out that he has treated people fairly in his 15 years protecting you what then? let me answwer that for all of you nothing, its his thoughts and he can think anyway he likes as long as he serves and enforces fairly, which he has.
How do you know that he’s always acted fairly? And how are we, the public, supposed to expect him to act fairly when he holds such extreme and hateful views?
And I agree he can think any way he likes, but the VSP has a policy about social media which he has clearly violated, over and over again. Take it up with them, not me.
I sincerely doubt that someone whose bias is that deep and strong exhibits the bias only in thought. How many of his fellow troopers have heard him saying similar things and ignored it? That’s part of the problem.
Police work requires fairness and objectivity to work the way we all (well, most of us) want it to work. It’s a field where the thoughts of the officer are themselves relevant to his fitness to be an officer.
Police work also depends on the appearance of fairness and objectivity, which is why VSP has a social media policy in the first place.
You can doubt all you want, i know as a fact he’s always treated people fairly. If you cant comprehend that he lets his conduct overide his personel thoughts, im glad your not a police officer.
There are two issues with his Facebook posts. There’s the question of whether his views influence his policing; you say they haven’t. There’s also the damage done to VSP’s reputation and standing due to a trooper publicly espousing such beliefs. That’s why VSP has a social media policy which Graham has blatantly and repeatedly violated. As VSP Chief Tom L’Esperance explained to WCAX-TV:
can you please advise me where you read anything from this Trooper that shows “extreme and hateful views”
Seriously? If you don’t think the examples I cited constitute “extreme and hateful views,” there are more examples in the WCAX story. But if you disagree with my assessment, then you also disagree with VSP chief Tom L’Esperance, who says Graham’s posts “cut into the fabric of who we are.”
Everything. Your wrong about everything. Stop being a moron and accept your not the final line of what a human being should be.
Sound reasoning, sir. Is the chief of the Vermont State Police equally wrong?
I was referring to “dave”, I do not agree with him.
You sir, John S. Walters I agree with. I believe men of authority figures should be held to a higher standard. Not just what one would expect from a hate cult. John S. Walters, I believe reiterated on that with class. (If my aggressive response to “dave” came through as a reaction to you. I apologize.)
As for “dave”, it sounds like he can go back to drinking himself to death while yelling at his family and complaining about society at the same time.
Sorry for the misperception. New comments show up on my site without reference to whatever other comment they’re reacting to, so as far as I could tell you were addressing me. It’s a flaw in the WordPress system.
Saying or writing racist, sexist, or anti-Bernie slurs is, in fact, acting in a way that does not treat people fairly So, he’s got a clear, public record of numerous times he used words of violence and hatred against minorities, women, and non-Christians. And we look around our country at the cops who shoot unarmed minorities, and we think there’s no racism in Vermont’s police, no… if this guy thinks these things, he’s just one poor judgment call away from harming someone in the line of duty.