After an emphatic debate that stretched late into Monday night, the Burlington City Council declined to confirm Jon Murad as the city’s permanent police chief.
Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger’s nomination of the acting chief, which was announced Thursday, failed in a 6-6 vote, with all six Progressive councilors voting no.
Still, the acting chief will remain on the job indefinitely, the mayor announced in a statement minutes after the council adjourned.
“Chief Murad will be Burlington’s Chief so long as he continues to serve as a full partner with the Administration and the Burlington community in forging progress on our urgent public safety challenges and advancing police transformation,” the statement said. “It is my sincere hope that at some point soon a majority of the Council joins us in this critical work.”
In voting against Murad, Progressives cited what they called a flawed selection process as well as disagreements some councilors had with his approach to policing.
Councilor Zoraya Hightower highlighted comments made by three members of the city’s Police Commission during the meeting’s public forum period, in which they accused Murad of being disrespectful and defensive during portions of commission meetings that were closed to the public.
Stephanie Seguino — who shared the comments along with Suzy Comerford and Melo Grant — told councilors that a supermajority of the seven police commissioners did not support Murad’s appointment.
Hightower compared the allegations to those leveled against former Burlington International Airport Director Gene Richards, whom the council fired for mismanagement last year.
When asked about the allegations by Councilor Ali Dieng, I-Ward 7, Murad told councilors he was concerned by the comments. He said he’s “committed to a respectful and collaborative relationship” with the Police Commission.
Shireen Hart, another member of the commission, expressed support for Murad in front of the council. She said that she spoke for her fellow Commissioner Kevin Garrison as well.
In supporting his nominee, Weinberger told councilors that Murad was the clear choice to be top cop, citing the city’s police union’s support among Murad’s assets.
In a speech, the mayor asked councilors if their objections to Murad outweighed the need, in the mayor’s eyes, to install a permanent police chief as soon as possible.
“What has happened in the last 18 months under Chief Murad’s leadership that is worth depriving our officers of your confidence, depriving a dedicated city employee a title and distinction that he has earned and depriving our city a chief for even one day longer?” Weinberger asked.
Hightower also said she found troubling Murad’s views on racial disparities in Burlington’s policing statistics.
The acting chief told councilors Monday night that he acknowledges the statistical disparities but needs to further examine the data to determine whether they were driven by racial bias.
“If I find bias that drives these disparities, I will take action on that,” Murad said. “I will also work with partners to address upstream sources of these disparities because what I see is not bias in the hearts of officers.”
He added: “Bias is universal. We all experience it. We all have it, and of course it is in hearts of officers. Does it cause the actions? Or is it the behavior that officers encounter causing it?”
Murad touted his record on addressing the racial disparities as acting chief. Burlington police stopped a disproportionate number of drivers of color in previous years but not in 2021, he said, citing preliminary data. Murad also instituted a “racial training” program for officers, he said.
Councilor Joe Magee, P-Ward 3, took issue with Murad’s opposition to a Progressive-led effort that would give a citizen committee authority over discipline for police misconduct.
The debate at Monday’s meeting was the latest chapter in a two-year effort that has laid bare the fractious relationship Democratic and Progressive city leaders can have on issues of public safety.
A supermajority of the City Council criticized the process to search for the police chief, including Karen Paul, D-Ward 6, and Sarah Carpenter, D-Ward 4, two Democrats who voted to appoint Murad.
Two Progressives, Jack Hanson, P-East District, and Jane Stromberg, P-Ward 8, said it was the process of selecting Murad, and not Murad himself, that convinced them to vote no.
At the end of Monday’s debate, Weinberger declared he would not reopen the police chief search. While the council’s rules prevent it from taking up Murad’s nomination again with its current makeup, the body can vote again on the issue once a new council is seated after the March 1 election.
Councilor Joan Shannon, D-South District — one of the mayor’s closest allies — said the decision to confirm a new police chief would be left up to the voters, a nod to the election.
Councilors met in a fully remote manner Monday night, the first time they have done so since summer 2021. While members of the public have been encouraged to attend meetings remotely since early January, there previously was an opportunity to watch the meetings in person at City Hall.
Other business
In other business Monday night, councilors:
- Unanimously voted to extend the city’s indoor mask mandate until March 2. The ordinance, which exempts some establishments that verify the Covid-19 vaccination status of everyone present, needs to be renewed every 30 days as a requirement of state law.
- Created a video editor position within the police department to more quickly redact body camera footage of certain incidents so, in compliance with a Police Commission requirement, it can be released to the public.
The position was already included in the department’s budget for fiscal year 2022 but needed council approval. Councilor Perri Freeman, P-Central District, voted against the measure.
- Received a confidential update on the beleaguered CityPlace project. Envisioned as a redevelopment of the Burlington mall, the project has faced several lawsuits and — with no significant construction yet underway — left a large pit in the city’s downtown.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Burlington City Council rejects acting police chief for permanent job.