A former Claremont police officer has been arrested following a criminal investigation by the state Attorney General’s office.
Ian Kibbe, a 30 year-old resident of Springfield, VT, faces a number of charges relating falsifying information on the job. Those include one count of conspiracy to commit perjury, one count of attempted perjury, two counts of unsworn falsification, and two counts of obstructing government administration.
The AG's office began investigating Kibbe and another Claremont police officer, Mark Burch, earlier this spring. That was after Claremont Chief Mark Chase contacted state officials, saying Kibbe and Burch had faked documents in a search they performed in February.
According to documents filed this week in Sullivan County Superior Court, Kibbe and Burch seized weapons from a property without first obtaining a search warrant. They allegedly falsey claimed those weapons were in plain sight.
This is not the first time the state has looked into Kibbe’s conduct. He was investigated in 2016 ago after he shot and killed a man who was threatening him with a revolver, according to the AG's report. His use of force was found to be justified in that incident, but state officials have reopened that case for review.
Kibbe has been released on $5,000 bail. The investigation into Burch remains open.