STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

TRANSFER ANNOUNCEMENT – LIEUTENANT/SHAFTSBURY FIELD STATION COMMANDER

DATE:                          Oct. 28, 2021

FROM:                         Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, director

TRANSFER:                  Lieutenant/Shaftsbury Field Station Commander

Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, is pleased to announce the following transfer:

Lt. Steven Coote, director of recruiting and training/Office of Professional Development in Pittsford, to commander/Shaftsbury Field Station. The transfer was effective Oct. 24, 2021.

Lt. Coote has served the people of Vermont for more than 16 years. He began his career in 2005 as a trooper assigned to the Rutland Barracks, and as part of that assignment spent six years at the former Castleton outpost. In 2013 he was promoted to sergeant and assigned to the Office of Professional Development/Training Division based at the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford. Three years later he transferred as a sergeant/patrol commander to the New Haven Barracks, where he worked for a year before transferring into the same role at the Rutland Barracks. He was promoted to lieutenant and assigned as the director of recruiting and training at OPD in December 2017. In his various assignments at OPD, Lt. Coote has served as an instructor on topics including fair and impartial policing; leadership; Taser use; and use of force.

In addition to those duties, Lt. Coote, a native Vermonter, has been an adjunct instructor at the Vermont Police Academy for more than 10 years, sits on several committees for the Vermont State Police and Vermont Criminal Justice Council, and served as a member of the Critical Action Team.

A Vermont State Police field station commander is responsible for overseeing the delivery of law enforcement services to the communities patrolled by that station’s troopers. Field station commanders are the local representative of the Vermont State Police to the community they serve, and they work with local officials and residents to address public safety and law enforcement concerns in their service areas.

The Shaftsbury Barracks provides police coverage throughout Bennington County, including primary law enforcement services for Arlington, Dorset, Glastenbury, Landgrove, Peru, Pownal, Readsboro, Rupert, Sandgate, Searsburg, Shaftsbury, Stamford, Sunderland, and Woodford, along with Somerset in Windham county. This coverage is augmented by the station’s strong relationship with the Bennington County Sheriff’s Office. Troopers also provide assistance as requested to Bennington, Manchester, and Winhall police departments. The Shaftsbury Barracks patrols 205 miles of state highways.

In addition, Shaftsbury Barracks staff regularly conduct outreach through community groups, selectboards and other public forums to discuss local concerns and relate important information to the public.

Lt. Coote succeeds Lt. Thomas Mozzer, who has transferred to become the next director of recruiting and training at VSP’s Office of Professional Development at the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford.

Lt. Coote can be reached via the Shaftsbury Barracks at 802-442-5421 or by email at steven.coote@vermont.gov. To find out more about the Shaftsbury Barracks, visit https://vsp.vermont.gov/stations/shaftsbury.

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