BURLINGTON — Attorney General TJ Donovan is “very close” to completing his review into Burlington Police officer Cory Campbell’s altercation with Douglas Kilburn, who died days after being punched by Campbell in March.
State’s Attorney Sarah George said Wednesday that her office had completed its assessment and was waiting on Donovan’s office to complete its review of Kilburn’s death, which received substantial public and media attention.
“They informed me a couple of weeks ago that they were ‘very close’ – so I’m hopeful that we can announce our findings shortly,” George said by email.
As prosecutors finish their review, the head of Burlington’s police union, Dan Gilligan, says he is frustrated and confused by the length of the review as officers have already been cleared in other more recent use-of-force incidents.
Kilburn, 54, died days after his interaction with Campbell, which took place in the ambulance bay of the University of Vermont Medical Center. His death was ruled a homicide by the chief medical examiner, a finding that means that Kilburn would not have died if he had not been punched by Campbell.
Body camera footage of the incident showed Kilburn punching Campbell before Campbell punched him back, leaving Kilburn bleeding heavily from his face. Kilburn became increasingly agitated when Campbell yelled at him to “shut the fuck up and leave.”
The Burlington Police Department handed the investigation over to the Vermont State Police, who concluded their investigation and gave it to Donovan in May. Campbell has been on administrative duty since shortly after the incident.
“It’s just unfortunate for him to be caught in the middle of whatever this is,” Gilligan said. “I couldn’t even guess what the issue is and what’s taking so long. This is unheard of as far as I know.”
George said in June both the State’s Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office were reviewing the case, and that the State’s Attorney’s Office tries to complete their reviews in a couple months.
George said Wednesday that while her office had completed its review in its typical timeframe, she was waiting on Donovan to complete his review. Donovan spokesperson Lauren Jandl said the case remains under investigation and would not comment further.
The AG’s office has already announced it would not be bringing charges against officers in two cases that happened months after the Campbell/Kilburn altercation. Donovan cleared a Montpelier officer who shot and killed a Montpelier man who was armed with a pellet gun in August and a Vermont State Trooper who injured a Quechee man who pointed a shotgun at the trooper in May.
Gilligan said that he was confused about why the Campbell case was taking longer than the reviews in those cases.
“This is just an anomaly and it’s certainly a concern, but this seems like the only time it’s ever happened and I don’t understand why,” he said.
Campbell is “frustrated” with the length of the review, Gilligan said.
“He’s definitely frustrated with the whole thing,” Gilligan said. “I mean, we all are, but especially him because it impacts him the most.”
The Montpelier case has sparked a debate about whether officers should be allowed to view their body camera footage before speaking with investigators. Donovan and the Vermont State Police believe officers should not be influenced by the footage before testifying, while local police departments think officers should be allowed to refresh their memories.
Campbell was not interviewed as part of the state police investigation. George also did not interview Campbell, saying her office would never interview potential offenders in an effort to determine whether criminal charges should be brought.
BPD Deputy Chief Jon Murad declined to comment on the Vermont State Police policy to not interview officers who had reviewed their body camera footage but said the department often interviews witnesses who provide and have seen video evidence.
“Videos tell part of the story, and we often speak to witnesses who provided video because those witnesses might have additional information to provide outside them,” Murad said.
Murad said the department had not received any kind of formal information about the status of the investigation, but had heard that Donovan is waiting for one report in the case. Murad said he did not know the contents of that report.
“Any time we have a complicated incident like this, we want it to be reviewed thoroughly, but we also want it to be reviewed quickly and fairly,” he said. “That’s in the interest of the public, department and justice.”
Murad declined to comment on whether this review had met that standard.
“You tell me,” he said.
Read the story on VTDigger here: AG said to be ‘very close’ to decision in Burlington police case.