Vt. police release dashboard video of Democrat’s traffic stop but withhold Republican’s

Vt. police release video of Dem, not Republican

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Democrats in Vermont are complaining a police dashboard video of a Democratic candidate for governor being stopped for speeding was made available within days but a request for video of the Republican state auditor being stopped for drunken driving was denied.

Video requests by a TV station and a lawyer were handled by Public Safety Commissioner Tom Tremblay, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Jim Douglas.

Tremblay says the Democrat’s stop was for a civil violation subject to public disclosure while the Republican’s stop was for a criminal violation not subject to disclosure. He says any suggestion of political motivation is wrong.

Attorney John Franco is involved in the campaign of the Democrat trying to unseat the Republican state auditor. He says there’s “political bias.”