French promoted to lieutenant, takes over Westminster barracks

Sgt. Anthony French, patrol commander at the Royalton Barracks, has been promoted to lieutenant and assigned to be station commander at the Westminster Field Station.  The promotion was effective Dec. 25, 2016.

Lt. French graduated from the Vermont Police Academy in 1998 and began his career as a trooper at the Shaftsbury station, transferring to the Rockingham station in 1999.

He was promoted to sergeant in 2005, serving at the Rockingham station and then the Royalton station until his promotion to lieutenant.  French has also served as a member of the Vermont State Police Search & Rescue team.  He replaces Lt. Timothy Oliver, who is retiring after 28 years with the VSP.

The commander of a Vermont State Police Field Station is responsible for overseeing law enforcement services in the communities served by that station.  The field station commander is the local representative of the Vermont State Police to the community and works with local officials and citizens to address public safety and law enforcement concerns.

French takes over a field station recently consolidated from the former Brattleboro and Rockingham Field Stations.  It is also home to the Westminster Public Safety Answering Point, which handles 911 calls and dispatching for much of southern Vermont.