Bomb threat evacuates St. Albans police station
Police say they have identified a suspect in a bomb threat Tuesday that prompted the evacuation of the building that houses the St. Albans police, dispatchers and fire department.
Investigators said on Twitter they plan to release more information about the suspect Wednesday.
The bomb scare came in one of several threatening phone calls made to the police station Tuesday, according to Police Chief Gary Taylor. The calls came in response to a portion of St. Albans police cruiser video posted online by Copblock.org, a website that claims to keep police accountable.
The video shows about 3 minutes of a longer video of the arrest of local defense attorney Peter Martin on June 12. The video shows St. Albans police officer Michael Malinowski and Martin in a physical fight.
According to police, Martin was angry and refused to pay for his car to be towed. The video shows Malinowski pushing Martin and during a scuffle a gun carried by Martin falls to the ground. According to police, Malinowski feared for his life and used his foot to push Martin away from the gun and on to his back.
Martin faces charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he was stopped by police for having a vehicle with tinted windows, which are illegal in Vermont.
An independent investigation into the incident cleared Malinowski of any wrongdoing, Taylor said Tuesday.
Cop Block followers reacted to the video by calling the St. Albans station, one claiming to have contacted Malinowski via Facebook. The bomb threat was called in at about 1:45 p.m.
According to Taylor, the department has received many calls including, he said, "veiled threats, some not-so-veiled threats."
The Cop Block website lists Malinowski, the officer in the video, as the "individual responsible" and includes the St. Albans Police Department's address and phone number.
The Cop Block website says, "we do not 'hate cops.' We believe that no one — not even those with badges — has extra rights," and says it does not condone violence.
Taylor said he, Malinowski and others have needed to close their personal Facebook accounts as a result of the issue.
Contact Jessie Forand at jforand@freepressmedia.com or 651-4859.