Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore is on trial for simple assault for striking Jeremy Burrows in 2022, who was under arrest and in shackles at the time, in Grand Isle County Superior criminal court in North Hero on Tuesday, July 23. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTwo months after a jury failed to reach a verdict over whether Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore committed assault when he kicked a shackled detainee in 2022, the sheriff’s case is back in court this week as prosecutors try, again, to convict him.In late July, Judge Samuel Hoar declared a mistrial in Grismore’s case because the Grand Isle County jury could not come to a unanimous decision. The sheriff has been charged with simple assault for repeatedly kicking Jeremy Burrows in the groin in a department holding cell, video footage of which was widely published soon after.But Hoar is now moving forward with a redo of the summer’s proceedings. Jurors were being selected for the trial redux on Monday, with the trial slated to start as soon as that afternoon, according to Grand Isle State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito, who is prosecuting the case. Officials have blocked off time for the trial through Thursday, a court calendar shows.If he is convicted, Grismore could face up to a year in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both. READ MORE A state panel has already found that Grismore’s actions violated Vermont’s policy on police use-of-force. As a result, they revoked his law enforcement officer certification last year. But this week’s trial, like the proceedings in July, centers on whether or not the sheriff also violated criminal law.Grismore, who was a deputy sheriff at the time of the incident, has maintained that he did nothing wrong. In the earlier trial, he and his attorney argued that his actions helped two other deputies — who were also in the holding cell at the time — get the detained man under control. Burrows appears heavily intoxicated, and at times belligerent, in the events leading up to the incident at the sheriff’s department, body camera footage shows.Meanwhile, DiSabito pointed to court testimony from those two other deputies, who said they did not think Grismore’s actions were necessary. One of the deputies, Karry Andileigh, was so concerned by the kicks that she moved her body in between Burrows and Grismore moments after in order to protect Burrows, she told the jury in July. Both Grismore and Burrows took the stand during the first trial. Burrows told the jury that the kicks caused him pain and have since made him scared of the police.At the end of the trial in July, which lasted three days, jurors spent more than five hours deliberating. But the case’s lead juror was “convinced” the panel could not reach a verdict, the juror told Hoar. Read the story on VTDigger here: Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore to be tried on assault charge again.