[B]URLINGTON — The City Council has voted to form a special committee to review the policies of the Burlington Police Department following a handful of much-publicized use of force incidents.
The council’s Monday night vote followed a heated discussion about a separate resolution calling for immediate action that did not pass and followed two councilors — Ali Dieng and Perri Freeman — voting against rehiring Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo.
Del Pozo faced questions about the department’s use of force policies at the council’s May 14 meeting, following the filing of two federal lawsuits alleging police brutality and the release of body camera footage from those incidents showing officers pushing and tackling the African-American men who filed the suits.
In another incident, Burlington man Douglas Kilburn died in March days after getting punched by officer Cory Campbell, who said Kilburn punched him first. Kilburn’s death was ruled a homicide by chief medical examiner Steven Shapiro, and attorney General TJ Donovan is reviewing the results of the Vermont State Police investigation in Kilburn’s death.
The council debated two proposals, with the resolution establishing the special committee passing 11-1 following the 9-3 defeat of a proposal from three Progressive councilors that laid out more immediate action inspired by the demands of Black Lives Matter Greater Burlington.
The special committee will examine: “civilian oversight structures; use of force policy; officer training; police information disclosure practices; disciplinary processes; officer wellness initiatives; data collection, data quality, data analysis, and related public availability practices.”
Special committee
Councilor Adam Roof introduced the motion establishing the special committee and said the recently revealed incidents had shaken the community.
“These actions, which resulted in both real bodily harm and community trauma, became highly publicized and discussed, and have understandably resulted in an erosion of trust between this community, our community, and this government,” he said.
Roof said the resolution aimed to improve the department’s policies while recognizing the difficult work Burlington’s officers do everyday and the trauma caused by the use-of-force incidents in the spotlight.
“It’s not a resolution that’s anti-cop, nor is it a resolution with an effort to brush real issues under the rug,” he said. “Instead, this resolution is pro-trust. It offers a thoughtful, inclusive, sensible and well-resourced process that no fair-minded member of our community should fear.”
The committee has a budget of up to $50,000 and is required to return to the council with recommendations by the end of November.
The committee will feature two city councilors, two members of the administration, two members of the Police Commission and two members representing local communities of color.
They will be joined by one representative of each of the following categories: a local mental health/substance abuse provider, a local domestic abuse services provider, the local LGBTQ community, a local activist organization, the Burlington Police Officers’ Association, a supervisor in the BPD and a member of the Burlington community with “a personal and professional background that would enrich the work of the committee.”
The police department will be required to publicly share information about use of force incidents, officer training, information about the department’s internal review and disciplinary processes and any other information the committee deems pertinent.
Del Pozo said the proposal presented an opportunity to allow the department to work with the community to help draft a use of force policy.
“We’d make one of the best policies in the United States if we did it ourselves,” Del Pozo said. “But it would not be a policy that was a product of the people, and part of legitimacy and trust is developing products with the help of the people.”
Dieng was the sole vote against the proposal, saying it did not address some of his concerns.
Counter proposal
The more heavily debated proposal from Progressive councilors Max Tracy, Perri Freeman and Jack Hanson laid out more immediate changes to department policy, but was rejected in a 9-3 vote.
Their proposal would have required the BPD to cease the hiring of new officers and work toward shrinking the force over time “freeing up funds to be used for the hiring of social workers and other social service providers.”
The proposal also mandated the public release of body camera footage for “events in which officers deployed response to resistance/use of force, in particular but not limited to major use-of-force incidents, officer involved shootings and in-custody deaths” within 30 days in cases where there is not an external investigation and within 7 days of the completion of external incidents if there is.
The proposal mandates the public release of names of officers who were terminated by the department for excessive use of force, urges the city to negotiate full transparency of use-of-force disciplinary proceedings in its next contract with the union and requires officers to wear body cameras with audio remaining on “with discretion towards citizen privacy.”
Freeman said the proposal was an effort to acknowledge the demands of Black Lives Matter Burlington, with changes made in consultation with the city attorney to ensure it was not violating the city’s contract with the police union.
“It clearly outlines an expectation around force, around excessive, around brutal force and I think we can do that for our community,” Freeman said. “And around transparency and accountability.”
Hanson said the proposal would move the city and police department toward earning the trust of the community.
“It’s unacceptable when we see community members being severely injured by police officers, and it’s really important we set a precedent and a high standard for those incidents,” he said.
Those against the proposal expressed a number of concerns, primarily about the portion of the resolution that required capping the number of officers in the department in favor of hiring more social workers.
Councilor Chip Mason said he thought the resolution that eventually passed was a more “measured” response. He said the chief and his team should make the decisions about staffing levels, and that public disciplinary processes for city employees would face steep opposition from the city employee unions.
“The proposed resolution to me is a little over politicized, it ignores established policies and procedures on use of force, and the fact there’s an established disciplinary procedure,” he said.
Mayor Miro Weinberger fired back against the proposal, saying he found it “highly problematic.” He said he thought the proposal was “misguided” in suggesting the work of officers could be replaced by social workers, was redundant with some current department policies and showed a “misunderstanding of the way in which policing works.”
Weinberger said the naming of officers involved in the use of force incidents in the resolution was problematic as it did not give them due process.
“It’s just not right, it’s not the way to treat our employees, certainly not our officers, men and women who put their lives on the line for this community day-in and day-out,” he said.
Tracy responded by criticizing Weinberger and del Pozo for questioning the medical examiner’s findings in the Kilburn case, which he called “unethical.”
“I think the speech we just heard reflects a defensive posture and one that does not necessarily take responsibility and accountability for the actions that were taken,” he said.
Del Pozo’s renewal
Dieng made a motion to remove Del Pozo’s renewal as police chief from the annual slate of renewals for department heads and mayoral appointees. Del Pozo’s renewal passed in a 9-2 vote, with Freeman joining Dieng in voting against him. Councilor Joan Shannon was out of the room during the vote but had earlier expressed support for del Pozo and the department.
“I am actually very proud of the police force we have,” Shannon said.
“And very grateful every time that I call you when you come to the door with the professionalism you always have shown in those situations.”
Dieng said that he was voting against Del Pozo because he thought the chief should not have questioned the medical examiner’s report, and that it should not have taken eight months for the use of force incidents involved in the lawsuits to be made public.
“Many people in this community are not happy about the chief’s work,” he said.
Weinberger defended del Pozo’s job performance.
During the debate about the resolution introduced by three Progressive councilors, Weinberger said that during del Pozo’s tenure the department has improved its use of force policies and practices, made strides on issues of race in policing and been more willing to discipline officers.
“We have a great police department because of decades of strong leadership,” he said. “We have, I think, clearly gotten even better in recent years under the leadership of Chief Del Pozo, specifically and demonstrably in the areas of concern being raised by this resolution.”
