BURLINGTON — Burlington Police Deputy Chief Jan Wright has resigned after the revelation of her use of two anonymous Facebook accounts to attack critics and defend the department.
Wright’s resignation, announced Monday evening, will be effective Feb. 21. In a statement, Interim Police Chief Jennifer Morrison thanked Wright for her 18 years of service to the Burlington community and 34 years in law enforcement.
“The recent concerns about Deputy Wright’s use of social media have become an impediment to how we interact with and maintain trust with important segments of the Burlington community,” Morrison said. “A negotiated separation is the most prudent way to move forward.”
Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a statement Monday night that he had requested Wright step down.
“Good local governance, including good policing, depends upon the hard and skillful work of our city team, including civility and respect for all members of our community,” he said in a statement. “In this instance, a high-ranking leader in our city’s Police Department took multiple actions that damaged city relationships and eroded the public’s and my trust in her judgment beyond repair.”
Wright told Weinberger in December that she had operated a Facebook account under the name “Lori Spicer” only hours after former Police Chief Brandon del Pozo resigned for creating an anonymous Twitter account he used to attack a local activist.
Wright initially received an eight-day suspension after a city investigation, a punishment that was announced late last month. That investigation revealed that Wright had also used an “Abby Sykes” account to defend the department and attack critics.
Days later, VTDigger reported that Wright’s anonymous social media usage was much more extensive than the city’s investigation found. Wright used the accounts to question the racial makeup of the police commission, attack the press and defend her former boss, del Pozo,
“The commission is now 6/7th black. Is this representative of the Burlington community?” the “Abby Sykes” account commented on a Seven Days story about the election of three African American men to the police commission.
The city reached a settlement agreement with Wright Monday. The two-week delay between now and her resignation are to “ensure orderly knowledge transfer within the Police Department.”
Wright will continue to work on administrative matters between now and Feb. 21, and will be paid for her unused vacation days and a severance pay of 22 weeks of salary.
