Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Attorneys for two men who are suing Burlington asked Judge William K. Sessions III last month to slap the city with monetary penalties and decide the case in their clients' favor in light of revelations that del Pozo used an anonymous Twitter persona to harass Charles Winkleman, a citizen critic.
As part of discovery in the civil cases filed by Mabior Jok and a group of brothers, who claimed injuries from their separate downtown arrests in 2018, their attorneys asked del Pozo to provide information about his social media accounts. In responses dated October 30 and November 6, the chief did not disclose the @WinkleWatchers Twitter account he'd used. And the city's attorneys did not disclose information about the internal investigation that had followed del Pozo's private admission last July to Mayor Miro Weinberger.
Tags: City of Burlington , Brandon del Pozo , excessive force , social media , Robb Spensley , Evan Chadwick , Jeremie Meli , Mabior Jok , Pietro Lynn , William K. Sessions , discovery dispute , WinkleWatchers , Web Only , Image
Monday, January 20, 2020
Advocacy group Migrant Justice had accused Deputy Jeffry Turner of violating the department's policies on fair and impartial policing during a November 22 traffic stop, arguing that he had no reason to inquire about Luis Ulloa’s immigration status or prolong the stop until federal authorities arrived.
But Sheriff Kevin McLaughlin said Friday that Turner's actions were justified because he was concerned that he was dealing with a potential human trafficking situation.
“There is no evidence that supports the contention that Deputy Sheriff Turner’s purpose in dealing with the individuals in the vehicle (that he had lawfully stopped) was to enforce federal immigration law,” McLaughlin wrote in a six-page report released Friday afternoon.
Tags: Chittenden County Sheriff's Office , Kevin McLaughlin , Luis Ulloa , ICE , immigration , Migrant Justice , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Mohamed Luhizo is the third black man to file suit against the department for separate incidents that happened in the fall of 2018. All three plaintiffs are represented by attorney Evan Chadwick.
Luhizo's civil complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, alleges officers used excessive force while taking him into custody early on October 6, 2018. It further contends that the Burlington Police Department has engaged in a pattern of using unlawful force against people of color.
Anticipating "legal interest" in the case, Burlington police publicly released some body camera video from the incident on December 31, noting that the city's citizen police commission had previously reviewed the officers' actions and determined they were "within guidelines."
Deputy Chief Jon Murad said in an interview Wednesday that the videos evidenced "good police work" by officers who were responding to a crime in progress by men with known felony records for violent offenses.
Tags: Burlington Police Department , Mohamed Luhizo , Luhizo Luhizo , Evan Chadwick , Jon Murad , Jason Bellavance , Derek Hodges , Web Only , Image , Video
Monday, January 6, 2020
The vote came after councilors questioned Morrison for more than an hour about use of force, social media use, implicit bias and how to rebuild community trust after months of department upheaval.
"It has to be all hands on deck to recognize right now that rebuilding and sustaining public trust is our No. 1 priority, and it always has been," Morrison said, adding, "This is a tough time, but it's not the worst time the BPD has ever gone through."
Morrison's appointment follows the resignation of former chief Brandon del Pozo, who stepped down last month after he admitted to creating an anonymous Twitter account to taunt a critic.
Burlington Deputy Chief Jan Wright was initially named acting chief but was removed from the post after admitting to making her own anonymous social media profile. Wright remains on paid administrative leave as the city continues an investigation into her "Lori Spicer" social media accounts.
Tags: Burlington City Council , Jennifer Morrison , Brandon del Pozo , police chief , police , Burlington Police Department , Jan Wright , Lori Spicer , Brookfield , CityPlace , Web Only , Image
Friday, January 3, 2020
Campbell received a written reprimand for his conduct but remains a "valued member of this department," Acting Chief Jon Murad said in a Friday afternoon press release.
The encounter between Campbell and Kilburn outside the University of Vermont Medical Center last March escalated quickly once Campbell yelled for Kilburn, who was arguing with private security from the driver's seat of his SUV, to "shut the fuck up and leave."
Kilburn responded, "You ain't got a right to swear at me, motherfucker!" opened his car door, and struck Campbell in the face.
Campbell returned several bone-breaking punches that the state medical examiner said contributed to Kilburn's untimely death a few days later.
Tags: Cory Campbell , Burlington Police Department , Douglas Kilburn , Police Use of Force , Profanity , Web Only , Image , Video
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced the charges Thursday against the Berkshire-based Pleasant Valley Farms for work at its Lumbra Farm in Enosburg Falls.
The dairy, owned by Mark and Amanda St. Pierre, has more than 5,000 cows at several properties in Franklin County. The farms are located in the Missisquoi River Basin, which drains into Missisquoi Bay, one of the most polluted sections of Lake Champlain.
"We have a long and proud tradition of farming, agriculture and environmental stewardship in Vermont," Donovan said in a statement. "We need to continue to support our farmers while also protecting water quality and the environment by applying these rules across the board."
Tags: Pleasant Valley Farms , violations , Vermont , dairy , milk , cows , Web Only , Image
Friday, December 27, 2019
Secretary of Human Services Mike Smith on Friday named former Vermont State Police director Jim Baker to serve as commissioner of the state Department of Corrections on an interim basis. Smith also hired Tristram Coffin, a former U.S. attorney for Vermont, to lead an investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the department.
The moves come more than three weeks after Seven Days published an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use and retaliation at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, the state's sole prison for women. The story and subsequent coverage of the department prompted corrections commissioner Mike Touchette to resign last week.
Smith, whose Agency of Human Services oversees the department, conducted a short-term probe of the state's prison system and promised to hire an external law firm to lead a more intensive investigation. The secretary announced Friday that Coffin's firm, Downs Rachlin Martin, had been selected for the job. The firm will spend up to 120 days investigating Chittenden Regional and will also have access to other prisons in the state system.
A longtime Vermont attorney and former aide to U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Coffin served as U.S. attorney from 2009 through 2014.
Baker, who spent three decades with the Vermont State Police, ran the agency from 2006 until 2009. He has also served as interim director of the Vermont Police Academy, chief of the Rutland Police Department and director of advocacy for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He will serve as interim commissioner until Coffin's investigation is completed, Smith said, at which point a more permanent commissioner will be named.
Tags: Jim Baker , Tristram Coffin , Mike Smith , Vermont Department of Corrections , Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility , Web Only , Image
Friday, December 20, 2019
In an afternoon press conference, Weinberger also said that Deputy Chief Jan Wright has been placed on paid administrative leave as the city's investigation into her social media use continues.
"We're trying to get it done as quickly as possible," Weinberger said. "We're close, but it's not complete."
The news is the latest on the social media scandal that has enveloped the department in recent days. On Monday, Chief Brandon del Pozo resigned after admitting to creating an anonymous Twitter account to troll Burlington resident Charles Winkleman in July. Weinberger named Wright acting chief but replaced her hours later after she admitted to creating an anonymous Facebook profile under the name "Lori Spicer" to engage department critics.
He then named Deputy Chief Jon Murad as acting chief. Murad will continue to serve in the role until January 6, when the city council will be asked to confirm Morrison's post, Weinberger said.
Morrison was the Burlington department's first female deputy chief and retired from the agency after 23 years of service in 2013, and she became chief of the Colchester Police Department. Morrison retired from that post in 2018 and does not intend to apply for the permanent chief position, she said.
Weinberger also announced that the city has retained "workplace expert" Anita Tinney of the Philadelphia area-based Employee and Labor Relations Academy to review the police department's overall social media practices. Her work will begin January 3, the mayor said.
The city council's Human Resources Committee will convene in January to review a draft social media policy, which is in effect until the document is formally approved, Weinberger said.
"I'm fully confident in the department’s ability to make it through this rough patch," he said, "and I hope the people of the department and the public sees the announcements today as important steps towards completing that transition."
Morrison echoed the mayor's optimistic tone, saying that this scandal doesn't define the department.
“This is a world-class police agency," she said. "Do not lose sight of that."
Tags: Burlington Police Department , Burlington , city council , Jennifer Morrison , Twitter , social media , fake account , Jan Wright , Brandon del Pozo , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Tuomey may not stay in her new post as "senior advisor for safety and security" for long. On December 2, the City of Glenwood Springs named her one of four finalists for a police chief position in the Colorado resort community of 10,000.
Tuomey visited the town earlier this month for a candidate "meet and greet," according to the Post Independent, which ran a photo of her chatting with locals at a Glenwood Springs community center.
The deadline to apply for the job was October 19, according to an online job listing.
Tags: Lianne Tuomey , University of Vermont Police Services , leave of absence , glenwood springs , police chief , Web Only , Image
Monday, December 16, 2019
In a stunning turn Monday, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that the woman he had just named acting chief of the Burlington Police Department has been replaced — for operating a social media account under a fake name.
Deputy Chief Jan Wright informed the mayor that she had occasionally used a Facebook account under the name “Lori Spicer” and discussed the police department on the page.
The mayor's office announced Wright was out as acting chief just hours after she was named to replace chief Brandon del Pozo, who himself resigned Monday after admitting he briefly using an anonymous Twitter account to troll a critic.
Tags: Jan Wright , deputy chief , Burlington Police Department , Brandon del Pozo , chief , acting chief , social media , Lori Spicer , fake , anonymous , Web Only , Image