Shelburne Cop Who Hit and Killed Cyclist Pleads Not Guilty

A Shelburne cop who was allegedly playing a YouTube video in his police cruiser when he struck and killed a cyclist last November asserted his innocence in court on Thursday before a gallery that was packed with members of the victim’s family.

Sgt. Kyle Kapitanski was arraigned for grossly negligent driving with death resulting over the objection of his attorney, who argued that the Chittenden County state’s attorney didn’t have the minimum evidence needed to bring a felony case.

Kapitanski’s body camera showed that an anti-trans video was playing on his car-mounted computer during the early morning collision. But the sergeant’s private attorney, David Sleigh, said prosecutors lacked evidence that Kapitanski was actually watching it when he struck Sean Hayes, who had stopped his bike along the side of Shelburne Road.

“Looking at a video momentarily would not constitute gross negligence,” Sleigh told Superior Court Judge David Fenster.

A prosecutor representing Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, who filed the charge, said the presence of the YouTube video in the driver’s line of sight, coupled with the fact that Kapitanski was driving 40 miles per hour along a stretch with a 35 mph speed limit, provided enough evidence to proceed with the case.

Kapitanski, 41, was on patrol at the time of the crash, around 2:40 a.m. on November 11. He had just left a gas station, where he purchased a seltzer water and an energy drink, according to a court filing by a Vermont State Police investigator. Kapitanski was in his marked SUV traveling south on the four-lane road when he encountered Hayes. The man had stopped his bicycle near the curb and, according to surveillance video from nearby businesses, appeared to be tinkering with an attached trailer.

Kapitanski did not apply the brakes before striking Hayes, the state’s crash reconstruction team found.

An analysis of his department-issued tablet computer showed that YouTube was playing continuously for 11 minutes preceding the crash. The last video to play, according to court records, was attributed to an account called “MASCULINISM” and depicted an exchange about gender identity involving anti-trans commentator and author Matt Walsh.

Hayes, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Judge Fenster was not persuaded by Sleigh’s contention that the state needed to show that Kapitanski was watching the video at the time of the crash. Prosecutors needed only to demonstrate probable cause that the crime had occurred — a lower standard than what a jury may eventually need to consider — in order to proceed with the case.

Kapitanski wore a dark blue blazer and khaki pants as Sleigh entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. The judge released the sergeant pending trial with no restrictions. Shelburne police placed Kapitanski on paid administrative leave following the crash.

He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the felony charge.

More than a dozen family members and friends of Hayes attended the hearing. Afterward, they huddled around the family’s civil attorney, Brooks McArthur, and State’s Attorney George. The family is separately suing the Town of Shelburne for civil negligence in Hayes’ death.

“We would like the person who caused Sean’s death held accountable,” McArthur told reporters. “We have great faith in the state’s attorney’s office and the prosecutors involved in the case.”

McArthur dismissed Sleigh’s suggestion that Kapitanski wasn’t watching the video.

“If he was paying attention to the roadway, he would have seen Sean,” McArthur said. “This is a two-lane, southbound path of travel. He could have just moved over slightly. If he had moved over four feet, he would have avoided Sean. I don’t think there’s any doubt.”