Bennington needs a meaningful police oversight board

Every community should be able to hold their police accountable. We wrote a letter with the Rutland Area NAACP urging the Bennington Select Board to pursue a model of community control that allows citizens to review specific police misconduct complaints.

Only meaningful community oversight can repair the deep distrust and lack of accountability highlighted in the 2019 International Association of Chiefs of Police review of the Bennington Police Department, and we urge the Select Board to pursue additional authority from the legislature if necessary.