Dear neighbors

The Police Commission will hold its regular monthly meeting on February 28 at 6pm, Contois Auditorium. The meeting will be hybrid. The zoom link for remote participation is:

https://zoom.us/j/98471972898

The following are highlights of our upcoming meeting:

1. One of the Commission's roles is to review and approve revisions to any Burlington Police Department policies (called Department Directives or DD). The CNA consultants recommended changes to several policies. We will review changes to DD43 Reporting Corruption and Misconduct at this meeting. We welcome community input.

2. City Council President Karen Paul will speak to the Commission on plans to move civilian oversight forward.

3. The Center for Policing Equity will present their report on mental health emergency responses as part of their Redesigning Public Safety series. This presentation is intended to add to our understanding of alternative responses to mental health calls, which have risen sharply in Burlington in recent years. The City Council has set aside funding for this alternative model and plans are underway to implement it.

4. The Commission will be electing a co-chair at this meeting.

5. The Commission will also be reviewing use-of-force reports for January and February. The reports describe of all use of force incidents since our last meeting. While the Chief and deputy Chief will not be at our meeting this month due to school vacations, the Commission will review use of force reports to determine if these incidents require further and more in-depth review. In those cases, we will request BPD to provide access to body-worn camera videos of the incidents.

We welcome your input either during public comment or via email to Chair Stephanie Seguino, sseguino@burlingtonvt.gov.

Finally, with the upcoming Town Meeting Day vote an oversight-related ballot item and the extensive community discussion on oversight, the Commission would like to share some information to clarify the current role of the Police Commission.

The Police Commission has taken steps over the last two year to become a body that is independent of the BPD. Meetings have been moved to City Hall. The Commission now deliberates independently of BPD on issues of use of force, discipline, and complaints. It has been given resources to hire legal counsel to advise on complaints and discipline. And the Commission will soon be hosting its own website.

In its current role, the Police Commission provides oversight on disciplinary matters related to complaints and uses of force. Our role, however, is only advisory. The Chief makes a final determination on whether or not complaints or uses of force are justified after hearing the Commission's input.

In addition, the City Council passed Resolution 7.09 of 2021 (titled "Police Oversight and Accountability Authorities to Police Commission to Alter the Police Disciplinary System") and this was signed by the Mayor in November 2021. It is posted to the City's Board Docs website.

The Resolution expanded the Police Commission's authority in some areas, notably by affording the Commission the opportunity to initiate audits, reviews, and evaluations of department policies, directives, or data in regard to discipline, racial disparities, or other Commission priorities.

But the full extent of the oversight and accountability changes envisioned by the Resolution have yet to be realized. That is because the Resolution also calls for adoption of an ordinance to:

· expand the Commission's independent authority in specific discipline cases when the Commission's view of how a complaint or disciplinary matter should be handled differs from that of the Chief.

· codify the Commission's access to all information needed to review complaints, which would resolve some access issues the Commission has experienced over time; and

· empower the Commission to initiate investigations in certain cases and ensure that the Commission has ongoing access to support professionals to advance such investigations.

Development of the ordinance called for the in the Resolution has stalled. In part, the delay resulted from the departure of the City Attorney several months ago whose role is to turn the resolution's key provisions into an ordinance. There is also a difference of opinion as to whether Vermont statute allows the Commission to provide oversight. The Commission has received an independent legal opinion affirming that the City Council can in fact delegate greater oversight authority to the Commission.

Separately, a bill has also been introduced to the Vermont Senate that makes it easier for Vermont communities to create civilian oversight bodies and define their powers without the need for charter changes. That bill can be found here: https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/BILLS/S-0075/S-0075%20As%20Introduced.pdf

Apr 20, 2024, 10 AM to 2 PM

Apr 20, 2024, 7:30 to 9:30 PM

Apr 24, 2024, 5:30 to 7 PM