Battery Park protesters say that Monday night’s City Council resolution to authorize a buyout for Burlington Police Officer Jason Bellavance was a step forward — but it’s not enough.
Bellavance is one of three BPD officers that protesters are asking the city to expel from the force due to past violent infractions with the public. The city has entered into an agreement with Bellavance: For $300,000, 18 months of health insurance and other benefits, he’ll resign from his position effective Oct. 5.
While the resolution passed by the council references the other two officers protesters want fired — Joseph Corrow and Cory Campbell — neither the council nor the mayor is pursuing separation agreements with them. At last night’s meeting, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said he doesn’t think the city should buy out the other officers and some city councilors are divided over how to move forward.
John Franco, a Burlington employment attorney, is representing Bellavance in his negotiations with the city. In addition to the document posted by the council last night, which details the terms of the agreement, Franco said Bellavance has also agreed to a clause that would not allow him to seek law enforcement employment in Chittenden County for three years following his resignation.
Franco said that while Bellavance has not signed the agreement, the terms have been agreed to in principle, and are unlikely to change.
But for Battery Park protesters, this isn’t enough, according to their press release. They’re calling the agreement with Bellavance “an important first step,” but it still falls short.
“We believe that the City Council and Mayor Weinberger are capable of more,” the press release states. “Burlington residents deserve assurance that the Burlington Police Department and our elected officials do not tolerate police brutality and excessive force.”
The protesters have been inhabiting Battery Park for 29 days in an effort to force action. There are no designated leaders of the movement and they have repeatedly denied requests for comment from the media.
Weinberger’s office did not have any further comment on the Battery Park protesters’ release. At last night’s meeting, Weinberger said he did not support separation agreements with Corrow and Campbell because when their incidents had been investigated, the BPD found that the officers did not violate their training or use of force policies.
Bellavance, however, did not use de-escalation training he had received during an altercation with a man in September 2018, which left the man unconscious. Weinberger said Bellavance, who is a sergeant, is a leader in the BPD and should be held to a higher standard.
If the city were to enter into agreements with Corrow and Campbell, Weinberger said, it would “set an unmanageable precedent that would challenge the department for years to come by suggesting that future employment decisions will be decided not by fair deliberative processes that are clear to employees, rather that those decisions will be subject to retroactive reopening by the passion of public opinion.”
City Council President Max Tracy, P-Ward 2, said in an interview that he still wants Corrow and Campbell off the force and that he would support separation agreements with them.
However, he said he doesn’t think he has enough votes to authorize agreements with Campbell and Corrow. And even if a resolution were to pass, Weinberger would likely veto it.
Tracy said he’s unsure what the best option is moving forward to appease protesters who say they aren’t leaving the park until their demands are met. “I’m not sure I have an answer for you,” Tracy said.
Councilor Jane Stromberg, P-Ward 8, said she supports taking a more “radical” approach. She would support firing the officers, despite warnings from attorneys that doing so is illegal and would violate constitutional protections and the BPD’s union contract.
“Doing the right thing is sometimes the harder thing, especially fiscally,” Stromberg said. “And I’m just sick of everyone putting money before human lives at this point.”
City Attorney Eileen Blackwood told councilors last night that if the city were to take action that it knew was illegal — like firing the officers — the city could lose its legal insurance. Taxpayers would be on the hook for the bill for any lawsuits.
Stromberg thinks a subsequent lawsuit — that would cost the city time and possible millions of dollars — would be a “good” but “hard” lesson for the city to experience. She thinks it could force the city to reform its policies that led to the current situation it’s in with the three officers, to ensure that nothing like this happens again.
Councilor Joan Shannon, D-South District, said she does not support separation agreements with Corrow and Campbell for the same reasons Weinberger had presented at last night’s council meeting.
She said the council has done what it can do to meet the protesters demands. Now, she thinks the council needs to focus on policy reforms.
“One of the reasons that we made the concession that we did with Bellavance was so that we can start to move forward,” Shannon said. “And that, ultimately, is what’s important in making our community safe for everyone and addressing the problems of racism in our community.”
