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Burlington City Councilor Melo Grant (left), Morning Drive host Kurt Wright
In an earlier edition, this report attributed a statement made by Morning Drive co-host Anthony Neri to co-host Kurt Wright. The version below is accurate. We regret the error. – Editor
By Michael Bielawski
Burlington City Councilor Melo Grant told the WVMT Morning Drive radio show this week that the voter-approved charter change to allow an unelected police oversight body to determine penalties for officer misconduct should go forward.
“Most of what was on that ballot item was fine with everyone,” she told Monday’s audience. “We’ve had these extreme situations [incidents of police misconduct] in Burlington, they happened so there has to be recourse for that.”
In September 2018, there was an incident that put the police under new scrutiny regarding their use of force policy. The Associated Press reported that The Queen City paid $215,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing one of their officers of excessive force when he grabbed a man and slammed him to the ground, knocking him unconscious. There were a few more use-of-force incidents in previous years.
Power shifted away from the elected?
The Morning Drive’s cohost Anthony Neri suggested this policy may take accountability away from the public.
“That is a dynamic shift in power to take an unelected board and give it the authority over the mayor who is an elected person,” Neri said. “So from a democratic stance, I’m always concerned when unelected boards have more authority than elected ones, because then just nobody is held accountable.”
Some law enforcement are concerned now fewer officers will want to work with a city largely perceived as unsupportive.
“Why do you not believe that those police officers who are concerned about recruitment and retention and say that the charter change is going to cause a problem, why do people outside the police force know more than people inside the police force?” co-host Kurt Wright said to Grant.
“Can’t trust” Police Commission?
Grant had criticism of the Police Commission, suggesting they can’t handle their workload.
“Part of the problem too is that you had members of the Police Commission who regretably keep complaining about the workload,” she said. “And I kept thinking to myself, well then just resign. If you are not up to this very important job at this time in our city, then resign.”
She suggested some trust in the Commission’s decisions.
“They need to talk to the community in a way that they have not done so that they can address the real issues, how some people in our city don’t trust their decisions and that’s a problem because we cannot afford that right now,” she said.
City Council “hostile” towards police?
A quote from a response to a survey of police revealed one officer’s perception that the City Council is currently perceived as “hostile” towards law enforcement.
“People do not want to come to work in Burlington because of Burlington, not because of the agency,” it read. “The city leadership has shown themselves to be outright hostile toward law enforcement. Until that changes and very publicly changes, the staffing issue cannot be fixed.”
Grant’s reaction was to point to the new mayor, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, as an example of the city supporting police.
“When you look at the new mayor, I don’t think that’s been the case,” Grant said. “When you look at the actions that she’s taking with regards to the funding levels and the programs that she’s trying to enact to be supportive.”
Mulvaney-Stanak however is at odds with police regarding the oversight body. She wrote, “This charter change helps ensure fair and impartial policing practices and is born out of critical community conversations about racial justice in 2020.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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Categories: Burlington
My opinion ? Unelected committees, and commissions are a CS way of elected officals getting their way and still being able to claim they are blamless when “things” hit the fan. (CS=Chicken ____)
The oversight board for the Burlington Police Department is wrong in many ways . Let the Chief do his job , the same idiots that voted for it are the same idiots that voted for the so called mayor.
Yup just like the Green MT Care Board. No accountability anywhere.
So let me guess n since they are not elected they are hand picked to do the bidding of the progressive leadership 🙄. And they wonder why the city is a toilet 🤔
Another glaring reason for not living in, or visiting, what was once a clean, welcoming and vibrant Vermont City. The progressive, liberal, and failing, socialist utopia on the lake; and it’s dragging the rest of Vermont down with it…
Mark
When the entire police dept resigns which is on the horizon watch the voters howl,but the dumb asses voted in the mayor and council
“We’ve had these extreme situations”…progressives keep bringing up the same tired cases of supposed excessive force that were settled out of court. Meanwhile new violent crime is a regular occurrence and is due to the lack of police resources and prosecutorial integrity. This will not end well.
Twas the night before Christmas
When up and down Church Street
Thefts were in progress, graffiti complete
The innocents were fleeing
The shootings were listed
The drugs deals kept dropping
Loitering persisted
Mrs Privilege in her flak jacket, and I in my cap
Had just settled down for a Queen City nap
When up on the roofs there came such a clatter
I sprang from my cot to see what was the matter
Away to the police station I bounded in fear
In hopes that I would find at least a few folks on duty there
The moonlight shining dimly on the station’s lit entrance
Gave a foul-smelling whiff of progressive repentance
When what to my weary eyes did appear,
But a miniature push-cart and eight city councileers!
With a happy little driver so lively and aglow
I could see that he was a proud, card carrying Berne Bro
I asked for some aid with my sorry condition
I begged them to help my sad city avoid perdition
“We’re so sorry, ” they exclaimed. “Our police chief is gone.
Yes, the one we took three full years to hire-on.
We had no idea,” they asserted, ” when back in the day.
we concluded that policing was our dragon to slay.
When we willingly chopped away many fine staff,
and pontificated about ‘justice’ with a good hearty laugh.”
“But away now, you laggard. Go back to your tent.
Go see about justice. Prepare to repent.
We maintain: we are right!
Stop berating us just warriors in your privileged state of fright.
We’ve long known better than you, after all.
And the voters support us, in making this call.”
As I walked back toward Pearl Street through Battery Park,
I was assaulted by something that sprang from the dark.
“Welcome home, Mr. Privilege. Good cheer, and libations!
Come join us in preparing to make reparations!”
Surviving this encounter, I made it back home.
What had I been thinking? What injustice had I sewn?
And as if to assuage my guilty concern
A shrill voice from yonder scornfully told me, “just learn!”
And from over by City Place a loud voice exclaimed
“May we all continue to wallow in shame.
We’ll have our new Oversight.
You”ll continue to fear.
The degradation of our city.
Will continue – all year!”
So wrong on every level. This needs to be struck down.
Got to wonder, if a high level insurance operator was shot in Burlington Vermont, would it make the news. New York City is getting more dangerous.
unelected power is a trend at every level of government. removing power from citizens is their goal and this is easiest way to do it. only way to stop is to elect those that do not want to see more regulation especially from unelected say health care
In effect what Burlington is pushing is a duplication. The Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council is now involved in the disciplinary process for police accused of misconduct. They can pull your certificate which prevents a police officer from working. Both processes are politically driven. End result usually the same. Cops are human and mistakes are made. The difference is a police mistake is often based on a split second decision that needs to be made. Review boards are out for blood.
moonbats, progressive etc are used to running away from trouble, while the police run toward it. Police are into protecting vulnerable people by upholding the laws. I thought that was a basic tenet of liberalism…to protect the vulnerable?
Congratulation Burlington! You can expect a huge reduction in crimes committed by your police force. You even may achieve perfection and eliminate police crime entirely. No cops=no cop crimes.
And now you understand why Burlington has become a ” cesspool ” with all the
crime, drugs, and a plethora of homelessness. roaming the streets of Burlington.
And now you have this new proposal, being pushed by the cesspool’s new DEI Mayor, and her gaggle of fools AKA ” city council ” as these are the same inept fools that de-funded the police department and have lowered the department’s headcount to the levels we have today. and why the city is a cesspool, yup, and now the Chief is bailing out, as these clowns want to be in control of policing with their oversight. now that’s funny…… ineptness comes to mind.
I hope the entire force steps up and leaves, let these power-hungry fools deal with their pathetic policy………….. Wake up people, it’s all about the power that they think they have, swelled heads with no common sense, these are the same clowns that want to stop law-abiding citizens of their rights under the US Constitution !!
At first glance at the title of the article, I thought it said, “Corruption Update”.
The swamp is deep in Burlington
“Part of the problem too is that you had members of the Police Commission who regretably keep complaining about the workload,” she said. “And I kept thinking to myself, well then just resign. If you are not up to this very important job at this time in our city, then resign.”-
Oh that’s real nice, Miss Grant. “Just resign.” You, the rest of the council and the mayor are WHY their workload is up as is Sarah George. Your diversity is arriving with a lot of drug trafficking and related violence and Sarah George believes in catch and release at best. No you want people who have no clue what it is to be a cop telling cops how to be cops? Once again elected officials miss the target.
Deep blue, Dem/Prog cities like Chicago, San Francisco, LA, NYC, Philadelphia, Boston, Portland, Seattle, etc., all operating from the same playbook. As those cities have gone, so goes Burlington. Go woke, go broke and watch once great cities turn into crime infested Hellholes.
How does it happen so quick? The installed officials are filling their pockets and the pockets of their associates. They call it racial justice. It is actually racketeering, collusion, and conspiracy to commit fraud. We are starting to see some “city officials” now getting raided, arrested and charged accordingly. A few down, many, many more to go.