The Vermont Supreme Court has upheld the revocation of Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore’s police certification.

Vermont Board of Criminal Justice voted in December 2023 to permanently revoke Grismore’s law enforcement certification. The panel found that the sheriff violated the state’s use-of-force police when he kicked a restrained man in August 2022.

Grismore appealed that decision to the Vermont Supreme Court, which upheld the board’s decision in a ruling issued Friday.

“Respondent has failed to identify any violation of his due process rights,” Judge Karen Carroll wrote in a unanimous 12-page decision.

Last month, a prosecutor dropped a felony assault charge against Grismore stemming from the incident in which Grismore, then a sheriff’s department captain, kicked a handcuffed inmate. Video of that incident has since been widely shared.

Grand Isle State Attorney Doug DiSabito’s decision to a denies the misdemeanor charge it followed two previous trials that ended after jurors failed to reach verdicts on whether Grismore’s actions constituted an assault.

The Vermont Board of Criminal Justice’s action to revoke Grismore’s police certification has no legal bearing on his ability to serve as sheriff under Vermont law. Sheriffs are independently elected officials in Vermont.

However, the decision limits what he can do in that role. For example, he can no longer take part in many facets of standard police work, the chairman of the criminal justice board said at the time of the recall, such as investigating crimes or conducting patrols.

Grismore maintained he did nothing wrong, claiming he was helping two other deputies bring the man into custody.

Neither Grismore nor his attorney could immediately be reached for comment Friday.