Burlington is delaying its search for a new police chief for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced Friday.
Interim Police Chief Jennifer Morrison will continue in her role until June, when Deputy Police Chief Jon Murad will take over until Morrison returns in October. Morrison is leaving the position over the summer to help take care of her husband, who will be undergoing a medical procedure in Boston.
Morrison, who formerly headed the Colchester Police Department, took over as interim chief in January after former police chief Brandon del Pozo resigned in December. Del Pozo stepped down after he admitted he had anonymously trolled local activist Charles Winkleman on Twitter.
Morrison had planned on serving in the role for four to six months as the city searched for a permanent police chief, but not past June due to a medical procedure her husband had scheduled.
Morrison said she was happy to help the city by returning to the role after her original planned departure.
“I think it’s a great solution to unprecedented times, and I love serving the city,” she said. “I’m happy to come back when we get our medical situation stabilized.”
The city had circulated a job description, received applications and was assembling a search committee in March when the coronavirus outbreak began, Weinberger said.
“It really is not possible to conduct a robust search process that involves out-of-state candidates visiting Burlington and meeting with many stakeholders in the community, and it’s not clear when those conditions are going to change to allow that in the months ahead,” Weinberger said.
Candidates also likely are facing increased demands due to the pandemic in their current communities, and are unlikely to make a career move during this time, Weinberger said.
“Few will feel it’s responsible for them to seek out other job opportunities,” he said.
Morrison expects to return in October, and will remain in the role until next summer. The city is set to restart its search in April 2021, and Weinberger said he expected Morrison will remain in the role for several months past then as the city hires a permanent chief.
Morrison’s last day will be June 12, when her current contract with the city ends. She and her husband will be relocating to Boston as her husband undergoes stem cell transplant procedures.
She said her return date depended on how her husband’s treatment goes, but she was hopeful she would be back at the end of September or the first week of October.
Morrison said she was not considering applying for the permanent position.
“We really are hoping my husband’s health will be restored to a place where we can do the things in retirement that we had planned to do before he fell ill almost a year ago,” she said.
Murad will serve as the acting chief when Morrison is not in the position this summer. If Morrison is unable to return to the position, Murad would continue as acting chief, Weinberger said.
Morrison said she had 100% confidence in Muard and new Deputy Chief Matt Sullivan, who was promoted to the position earlier this month. Former Deputy Chief Jan Wright resigned in February after revelations that she, too, had been using anonymous social media accounts.
Weinberger said that he reached out to the City Council and police commission for input before moving forward with the plan.
The department is facing three excessive force lawsuits, including two filed last year that sparked community outrage after body camera footage was released showing officers pushing and tackling three black men.
A special committee to review the department recommended revisions to the department’s use of force policy in a report released in February.
Weinberger said that the city’s work on police reform would continue.
“This pause in the search process is not a pause in the important work in this community of continuing to make our outstanding police department even better,” he said.
