BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Burlington City Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to hear from Black Lives Matter protesters who have been camping outside of the police station for two weeks.
Council’s six progressives called forth the meeting last Friday in a written statement.
In it, they said they are “disturbed by the deep inequities perpetuated by our City government.” They said residents have “communicated to the City that actions of the Burlington Police Department constitute excessive force and unprofessional policing behavior that they no longer wish to see in their city and do not accept as appropriate behavior from their police department.” They also invited the leaders of the protest in Battery Park to speak before city council.
Since last Tuesday, protesters have been sleeping overnight at the park and marching across the city at 6:30 every evening. They are demanding the city fire three police officers accused of excessive force, but city leaders say they can’t.
The three officers --Jason Bellavance, Cory Campbell and Joseph Corrow-- were ultimately cleared of the allegations. City officials say those cases have already been resolved after being reviewed internally and by the State’s Attorney’s office. They say they cannot be reopened without costing the city millions of dollars due to the police union contract.
City Attorney Eileen Blackwood reiterates that it’s out of the city’s hands. She says it’s state law --not city law-- that the police chief is the only person who has the authority to fire an officer. At Tuesday’s meeting, Blackwood read aloud a clause in the police union contract called ‘double jeopardy’ that legally prevents the city from taking any further action. It states that once the measure of discipline is determined and imposed, the city shall not increase it unless new facts or circumstances become known.
“The fact that certain folks like the city council didn’t know about the incidents and now disagree with the chief is not a new fact or circumstance under the rule of double jeopardy,” she said. “Under the city’s charter, the police chief has the authority to hire or fire police officers subject to an appeal to the Board of the Police Commission. Neither the Mayor nor the council has the authority to hire or fire police officers.”
Jess Laporte, one of the protest leaders present at the meeting, called the conversation ‘disappointing.’
“I’m incredibly disappointed by this public display of the same racist policies that are used to oppress Black and brown bodies being paraded around as if we cannot question them at all,” she said.
Other protesters who spoke during public comment said “case closed” is not an acceptable response.
“Does money truly matter more to you than BIPOC feeling safe and welcomed in this community?” Sarah Noel asked. “Will it take another body dropping before you take action against the violent cops who patrol these streets?”
“I recognize that it’s going to be difficult. I am terrified of a backlash from the police union. And I know that we need to do this anyway,” said Sophie Casel.
The progressive councilors agree. In their letter, they wrote “The Administration’s stance has been that there is nothing they can do; that this is a settled matter. We refuse to accept this.”
Progressives are also proposing a charter change that would allow for a public body to make final disciplinary decisions in use of force cases. They also say their policy would require universal use of body cameras and timely release of body camera footage in cases of misconduct and use of force, and mandate stronger performance evaluation standards. Lastly, they say they will not support a future union contract with the Burlington Police Officers Association if it does not fundamentally shift how officers are held accountable. Council president Max Tracy says the next contract goes into effect in 2022.
Council went into executive session late Tuesday night to continue the discussion.
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September 09, 2020 at 01:42PM
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Burlington city council holds emergency meeting to hear from protesters - WCAX
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