Wade Cochran, director of the enforcement and safety division at the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, has been placed on paid leave pending an unspecified external investigation, according to officials.
Agency of Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn said DMV Commissioner Wanda Minoli placed Cochran on leave on Thursday. Flynn declined to provide any details.
Cochran, 48, of Waterford, declined comment when reached by The Times Argus.
The FBI is conducting the investigation, which stems from an alleged incident before Cochran’s hiring at the DMV last August.
Supervisory Special Agent Brant Gage, the new commander of the FBI offices in Vermont, referred inquiries to his supervisor at the FBI field office in Albany, New York.
A spokeswoman for Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli said he would not return a phone call seeking comment. Tremaroli has held the Albany post since late November.
While the FBI is known to have commented through the years on pending investigations, spokeswoman Sarah Ruane said Monday, the department policy is to avoid confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.
The office of U.S. Attorney Nikolas "Kolo" Kerest is working with the FBI on the case, but Kerest and his spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment before the close of business Monday. Several hours later Fabienne Boisvert-DeFazio, the office press spokesperson, said Kerest was unwilling to confirm or deny the existence of the investigation.
"As a general matter we take allegations of misconduct by law enforcement very seriously," Boisvert-DeFazio said in responding to a question on how serious police complaints are handled by Kerest's office.
Cochran worked for more than 17 years with the Montpelier Police Department, climbing his way up through the ranks — an officer, corporal, patrol sergeant and detective sergeant. Montpelier assigned him for five years to the Vermont Drug Task Force before returning to the city police department.
Cochran then split his time between the MPD and serving on the FBI Violent Crime Task Force in Vermont for two years, when he resigned to accept the post of police chief for the town of Norwich in October 2022.
After 10 months, he headed back to the Capital City to work for the DMV.
DMV Capts. Scott Davidson and Gene Cote will oversee the enforcement division in Cochran’s absence, and they will report to the commissioner, Flynn said.
The DMV enforcement division has 29 sworn officers and a civilian staff of 14 at the DMV. The division is responsible for vehicle inspections, licensing and training management, dealer regulations, investigations, commercial vehicle regulation, and motor carrier safety, among other programs and services. The DMV has picked up more investigation of serious truck crashes after state police cutbacks.
Cochran is a graduate of Champlain College, where he majored in criminal justice. He began his law enforcement career as an emergency dispatcher for the Vermont State Police in St. Johnsbury, and by 2002 had been hired as an officer for Hardwick Police. Barre City hired him in 2005 before he moved to Montpelier PD in 2006.
The story was updated to include comments from U.S. Attorney Nikolas "Kolo" Kerest.
