Stowe swears in a new police chief on Monday
May 2, 2025 | By Waterbury Roundabout
Update, May 7: Below is a photo from Monday’s ceremony in Stowe.
Stowe Town Clerk Penny Davis administers the oath of office to Stowe’s new Police Chief Brooke O’Steen on Monday, May 5. Photo by Gordon Miller
Brooke O'Steen will be sworn in as Stowe Police Chief on Monday May 5. Courtesy photo
Stowe Police Department will have a new police chief on duty as Brooke O’Steen is set to be sworn in early Monday morning, May 5.
Town Manager Charles Safford announced the choice of O’Steen on Friday, saying the department was “entering a new chapter of leadership.”
O’Steen has worked for the Stowe department in several capacities since 2016, when she was hired as a part-time officer and then in 2017 as a full-time paramedic with Stowe Emergency Medical Services, according to the announcement. In 2019, she was promoted to full-time sergeant, a position she held until 2024, when she was hired to be Morristown’s Chief of EMS while continuing to serve part-time with Stowe Police.
O’Steen’s 22-year career in law enforcement includes 13 years at the United States Park Police in Washington D.C. where she moved up to the rank of sergeant with a squad of 22 officers prior to her move to Vermont in 2015. After earning her Vermont certifications, she went to work for the University of Vermont Police Service.
O’Steen received the Vermont ALS Provider of the Year Award in 2022 from Vermont Emergency Management. The award recognizes licensed EMS personnel for excellence in clinical skills, support of their EMS organizations, contributions to the development of other EMS professionals, or other involvement in the health and safety of communities in addition to providing emergency care. She also received a 2023 Vermont Law Enforcement Award.
Safford said he looks forward to O’Steen taking the leadership role at Stowe Police, praising her as a skilled officer and “an engaged leader who inspires her team to achieve their full potential.”
“I am optimistic about what lies ahead under Brooke’s leadership as the new chief of Stowe PD,” Safford said in the announcement.
O’Steen succeeds interim Police Chief Francis Gonyaw who was named in January to serve during the search for a permanent chief. Former Chief Don Hull who retired after 12 years at the start of 2025.
Safford thanked the members of the advisory committee that assisted in choosing the new chief: Drew Clymer, Neil Van Dyke, Norm Willliams, Scott Brinkman, Scott Reeves, Maura Wieler, Sgt. Dustin Pray, and Morristown Police Chief Jason Luneau. According to the Stowe Reporter, the committee worked with consultant and retired Vermont State Police colonel Jim Baker of JW Consulting to conduct the search.
The town’s announcement notes that O’Steen and her wife, Lindsay, have worked in public safety through policing, emergency medical services, and firefighting since moving to Vermont in 2015.
O’Steen will be sworn in at 8 a.m. Monday in the Akeley Memorial Room at town hall.