Mayor Miro Weinberger (left) and acting Chief Jon Murad In March, voters in Burlington will consider a ballot measure that would set up a powerful police oversight board with the authority to directly punish city officers for misconduct. The seven-member independent community control board could suspend, demote and even fire cops accused of wrongdoing, including the chief of police. The new model would require changing the city s charter and must ultimately be approved by city voters, the legislature and the governor. We heard just tons and tons and tons of testimony from the public, Councilor Perri Freeman (P-Central District), who spearheaded the effort, said at the council s December 14 meeting. It s just really amazing to see us getting to this point where we re really moving this proposal forward.
Burlingtonâs interim police Chief Jon Murad is pleading with city leaders to change their minds about cuts to the cityâs police department. The city is set to cut its sworn staff by 30% in June, after passing the Racial Justice Through Economic And Criminal Justice resolution over the summer.Burlington police are set to cap its number of officers at 74 next year. Murad gave a presentation before city council Monday, to show how the cuts will put the city in a bad position and public safety in jeopardy. He says the department will have to cut officers before they have time to hire since the hiring process can take more than a year. Murad says if the cuts take effect, officers wonât be able to respond to nonserious calls between 3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. On Monday, city councilors went back and forth discussing what they want to see next, what we are in right now is a little frustrating, but itâs not because weâre here, itâs because Iâm listening