Burlington, VT
Deputy Chief, Andi Higabee: A stand up guy, redeemed.
When the Vermont State Police responded to a one-car crash Nov. 21, 1999, in Charlotte, troopers learned the driver was a man they knew: Burlington Police Sgt. Andi Higbee. He was drunk.Minutes before, the then-30-year-old, who had drunk too much at a birthday party, had smashed his personal car into a telephone pole and a barn. Higbee trudged to a nearby farmhouse and called authorities.
“I knew most of the troopers that were there,” Higbee would recall later. “I put them in a very bad position that night.”
There might have been a temptation to offer special treatment, cop to cop, Higbee says. He didn’t ask, though, and the troopers offered none. Higbee pleaded guilty to drunken driving, paid restitution and a $300 fine, lost his driver’s license, attended a court-mandated course for DUI offenders, was demoted to corporal, and suffered a blemish on his record that lingers like an old wound.
Flash forward eight years, almost to the day: Nov. 2, 2007. Colchester Police Officer Dale Trombly stopped a car whose driver was suspected of intoxication. Behind the wheel was Burlington Police Sgt. Donald Lilja; the vehicle turned out to be an unmarked city cruiser. Trombly administered no sobriety tests, turned off his cruiser’s video camera and never cited Lilja, who later admitted driving after having consumed alcohol.
The contrast between the two incidents helps explain what happened to the officers involved. Lilja opted for early retirement. Trombly was fired. Another Burlington officer, whom supervisors accused of failing to report what he knew about the incident, also was dismissed.
And Friday, Higbee was promoted to deputy chief.
“What stands out to me about that incident is how Andi handled it,” says Higbee’s boss, Burlington Police Chief Mike Schirling, who made the decision about the promotion. “He called. He didn’t try to flee. He didn’t try to broom it. He just stood up and said, ‘I’m going to eat it. I made a mistake, and I’ve got to fix it and move on.’” More >>