The Burlington City Council condemned the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and requested Mayor Miro Weinberger fly the Black Lives Matter flag at City Hall for the remainder of the coronavirus pandemic during its Monday meeting.
Floyd died last week after Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes, sparking protests in cities across the country, including Burlington. The resolution also condemned the killings of Breonna Taylor, who was shot by Louisville police and Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed by a white man while jogging in Georgia.
The council approved the resolution in a 10-2 vote, with Councilors Perri Freeman, P-Central District, and Jane Stromberg, P-Ward 8, voting no. The two councilors objected to language that stated the council appreciated the BPD’s behavior during the protest Saturday.
“We all know in the 21st century, black people in this country continue to live in fear of losing their lives at the hands of law enforcement, or members of the white supremacy groups,” Councilor Ali Dieng, I-Ward 7, said.
Dieng said the resolution, which also condemned racism and discrimination that leads to the deaths of black Americans, was an effort for the council to join other local and state leaders in condemning police brutality.
“We need to make sure, on top of everything, we need justice in this country, and accountability,” he said.
The resolution also stated the council “appreciates the non-confrontational and professional response by the Burlington Police Department” to the protest in Burlington Saturday and “urges the Burlington Police Department to continue to commit to fair and impartial policing policies, continue to develop and implement comprehensive programs to ensure equitable justice policing practices at all levels of the agency.”
Councilor Jane Stromberg, P-Ward 8, proposed an amendment to strike the language about the BPD’s response from the resolution. She said the city should not thank the police for behaving in an appropriate manner.
That amendment failed in a 6-6 vote, along partisan lines, with all of the Progressive councilors voting for Stromberg’s amendment and the Democratic councilors and Dieng voting no.
“I feel like it waters down the ultimate sentiment of this resolution,” Stromberg said. “I don’t think the Burlington Police Department did us any favor by remaining calm, and not responding with force.”
Freeman said she thought the language was completely inappropriate and that the department should not be applauded for doing the bare minimum.
“With the unbelievable anguish this nation is experiencing right now over the unbelievable violence and … brutality that communities have been experiencing, I cannot fathom how this is even remotely appropriate,” she said.
During a press briefing Monday, Weinberger condemned the Minneapolis officers and said that he supported calls for further justice and accountability.
“The other officers on the scene did not intervene to stop the lead officer who was applying pressure to George Floyd’s neck … they should be arrested and charged,” he said.
Police Chief Jennifer Morrison said she issued two orders to officers Monday, requiring all personnel to intervene any time they witness misconduct, excessive use of force or any violation of a department rule or policy and stressing that officers should prioritize de-escalation.
Weinberger said he was eager for the city to continue work on recommendations from the special committee on policing. The committee was set up following the release of body camera footage in response to two federal lawsuits in May 2019 showing officers pushing and tackling three black men. A third federal lawsuit alleging police brutality was filed in January.
The committee issued a report recommending revisions to the department’s use of force policy in February. The City Council referred the report to the council’s public safety committee.
The special committee was divided, with some members pushing for more substantial change than the committee recommended, particularly regarding the oversight role of the police commission.
Weinberger said the public safety committee’s work stalled when committee meetings were canceled in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said he was eager for the committee’s work to continue.
Morrison said she, too, was “ready to roll” with an updated use of force policy.
“I’m feeling a sense of urgency, I want that updated policy to go into effect,” she said.
The council discussed the three ongoing use of force lawsuits behind closed doors in an executive session around midnight Monday.
During his briefing, Weinberger said there were no significant milestones to report in the progress of the lawsuits, and the council was seeking to understand the city’s legal strategy.
Evan Chadwick, who represents the men suing the department, declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuits, which are currently in the discovery stage.
During the protest Saturday, demonstrators criticized the department’s disproportionate use of force on black residents, and what they argue is the lack of appropriate officer discipline for excessive use of force.
Burlington Police Sgt. Jason Bellavance, shown in body camera footage shoving Jeremie Meli against a wall on Sept. 9, 2019, received a less-than-three-week suspension. Officers who drank beer confiscated from teenagers in December 2018 received a three-week suspension.
Weinberger said that Bellavance was disciplined in accordance with city procedures in consultation with the citizen police commission.
“The discipline that was meted out there was very significant discipline relative to past incidents, and it was supported strongly, I don’t remember if it was unanimous, but the commission felt like it was an appropriate step,” he said. “At this point, over 18 months since the incident took place, to go back and try to second guess the decisions that were made at the time, is not something I am prepared to do.”
Morrison said the incident was “well behind us,” and the discipline Bellavance faced was “unprecedented” in her lengthy tenure at the department.
“There was generally sort of a line in the sand that any suspension beyond two weeks was really just punishing the family economically,” she said. “The issue is that you want to correct behaviors, you don’t want to punish families.”
Morrison pushed back on a VTDigger question asking if Bellavance’s punishment reflected the officer accountability that Weinberger is calling for in Minneapolis.
“You’re trying to conflate a shove of a person who had been reported to have been in a fight, to the incident in Minneapolis, and they’re just not the same,” she said. “I think, candidly, that we’re not doing ourselves any favor when we keep conflating these things.”
She said it was time to move forward.
“It’s time for us to start growing from these incidents, instead of turning around and looking at them any time an excessive force case somewhere in the country comes up,” she said.
