BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -
A judge rejected a plea deal for a former Vermont state trooper.
Eric Howley, 40, is charged with two counts of simple assault. Police say he beat two men up while on the job after he thought they stole his canoe.
Howley would have pleaded no contest to two counts of simple assault and paid a $1,500 fine. But Judge David Suntag rejected the plea deal since it would not require Howley to admit on the record he assaulted the two men.
Howley resigned from the force in May.