A Vermont police sergeant was playing an anti-trans YouTube video while driving at the time of a crash that resulted in the death of a cyclist.

Shelburne Police Sgt. Kyle Kapitanski, 41, is facing a felony charge of grossly negligent operation with death resulting after he struck 38-year-old Sean Hayes with his police cruiser last November. Hayes died at the scene.

Related

Christian commentator says trans people should be “erased from the earth” in vicious SCOTUS rant
He also said all trans kids are abuse victims.

Hayes was adjusting his bicycle at the side of the road when Kapitanski allegedly hit him. Kapitanski told police that the cyclist “came out of nowhere,” according to WCAX.

Stay connected to your community

Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

According to VTDigger, the charging document written by Detective Sgt. Steven Gelder of the Vermont State Police indicates that Kapitanski was driving five miles over the speed limit at the time of the crash. Gelder also wrote that video recorded by Kapitanski’s body camera shows Kapitanski’s hand changing the display on his vehicle’s mounted tablet from YouTube to a dispatch screen in the moments immediately following the crash.

The document states that a review by the state police’s technology investigation unit found that the tablet was playing “several” YouTube videos in the 11 minutes leading up to the fatal collision.

The review also includes a link to the last video played on the tablet, titled “Trans woman CONFRONTING Matt Walsh takes UNEXPECTED turn.” According to the review, the video “appeared visually consistent” with the clip shown in Kapitanski’s body camera footage. However, the review found “no evidence of user interaction” with the tablet during the 11 minutes it was playing YouTube videos.

The clip reportedly playing on Kapitanski’s tablet at the time of the crash was posted last October to the @realmasculinism YouTube channel. It appears to have been recorded during the Q&A portion of one of Walsh’s speaking engagements and shows a heavily edited interaction between the far-right commentator and a person who identifies themself as a member of a group that intended to disrupt the event.

On Thursday, March 13, Kapitanski pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyer, David Sleigh, previously said he plans to fight the felony charge.

“The affidavit, as near as I can see it, says that Kyle was going maybe 5 miles over the speed limit, that his computer was playing some sort of video, but the officer says that their IT guy says there doesn’t appear to be any interaction with the computer in the 11 minutes that matter,” Sleigh said, according to VTDigger.

Meanwhile, Hayes’ family has filed a separate civil lawsuit. The family’s lawyer, Brooks McArthur argues that Kapitanski could have easily avoided hitting the cyclist.

“This is a two-lane southbound path of travel. He could have just moved over slightly,” McArthur said, according to WCAX. “If he had moved over four feet, he would have avoided Sean. I don’t think there was any doubt he was watching that video when he struck Sean.”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.