The Woodstock Village Trustees used the wrong legal standard when they decided to demote former police chief Joseph Swanson earlier this year, a judge ruled Tuesday, kicking the employment case back to the local governing board.
Swanson, a 25-year member of the town’s police department, served as police chief for 18 months before being placed on administrative leave in October 2024 following complaints about his management style and work ethic. His attorney argued that he was the victim of a witch hunt. But after weeks of deliberation that featured a 14-hour hearing, the trustees voted in April to demote Swanson back to a police officer, citing “personnel issues.”
The village detailed its reasoning in a confidential written decision. But it did not make a formal evaluation of whether cause existed to demote Swanson.
That was a mistake, according to Judge H. Dickson Corbett, who ruled that cause must be established in Vermont to remove a municipal police chief from office.
Corbett fell short of reinstating Swanson to his old post, though, as requested. Instead, the judge said that the trustees must decide whether to pursue further removal proceedings — and what to do about Swanson’s employment in the meantime.
“It is important for decisions about police-department supervision to be made not by this court, but rather by the village officials who have been elected and appointed for that purpose,” Corbett wrote.
The two sides nevertheless had different takeaways from the ruling. Swanson, who is suing the village for $5 million, texted members of the police on Tuesday to notify them of the reversal, according to a screenshot shared with Seven Days. Swanson wrote that it was unclear whether the trustees would “do the right thing” or whether they would seek to remove him again. “In the meantime call me with any questions about calls and cases,” he wrote, signing the text as “Chief Swanson.”
The village’s attorney, John Klesch, emailed Swanson’s lawyer, Linda Fraas, shortly afterward to say that the text had “dangerously created confusion” about the department’s chain of command. Klesch wrote that the municipal manager would issue a department-wide notification explaining that Swanson continues to hold the rank of a patrol officer.
Fraas responded that the judge’s order clearly means that Swanson must be able to resume his role as chief immediately, after which point the village can decide whether to pursue removal proceedings under the appropriate standards.
“Chief Swanson is ready, willing, and able to resume this post,” Fraas wrote, adding that he plans to report for duty under the chief title upon returning from vacation.
If the village wants to prevent that, then it must place him on paid leave, Fraas continued, but “they cannot simply deny that he is Chief” — unless they want to face another lawsuit.