Mayor Miro Weinberger and Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo will appear before the council on Monday. The agenda item is listed as an “expected executive session,” but council President Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) said some discussion may be public.
Councilor Ali Dieng (D/P-Ward 7) requested Weinberger and del Pozo provide a “detailed explanation” about why officials questioned and attempted to stifle chief medical examiner Steven Shapiro’s classification of Douglas Kilburn’s death as a homicide. Kilburn, 54, died March 14, three days after being punched by Officer Cory Campbell.
Del Pozo contacted Shapiro’s boss, Health Commissioner Mark Levine, and Weinberger reached out to Gov. Phil Scott’s office about the autopsy report before it became public, emails obtained by Seven Days show. Del Pozo told Levine that Shapiro hadn’t used the correct standard for ruling Kilburn’s manner of death and consulted with medical examiners in two other states to question Shapiro’s report.
“Can we have both Mayor and Chief of Police provide details of their unethical actions about this to the full council?” Dieng wrote in an email April 22 to Weinberger, del Pozo, the mayor’s chief of staff Jordan Redell, a city attorney, and fellow councilors Wright, Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) and Chip Mason (D-Ward 5).
Redell responded that afternoon, saying “we strongly disagree” it was unethical to “bring transparency” to Shapiro’s report. She said “reasonable people will see the same serious concerns” when the Vermont State Police finish their investigation.
“We believe that all levels of government should be open to explaining what they have done and why,” Redell wrote, adding that if Weinberger and del Pozo appear at the meeting, they cannot make “any public statements beyond what they have already stated” given the ongoing state police probe.
Soon after, Tracy chimed in on the email chain to support Dieng’s request. On Friday, Tracy told Seven Days that he hopes much of the discussion will be public. He said he wants to review both the department’s use-of-force policy and the body camera footage of Campbell’s interaction with Kilburn.
Emails obtained by Seven Days revealed that del Pozo shared the footage with Weinberger and two members of the mayor’s staff on April 9, the day before the state released Kilburn’s death certificate.
But the chief declined to provide it to Campbell, who filed a suit on Monday to view it. The officer wants to see the footage before talking to investigators.
Tracy said he has questions about why Weinberger and del Pozo “chose to take the course they did.”
“I want to give them a chance to explain their actions before fully coming to a conclusion,” Tracy said. “It’s one thing to question the finding [of an autopsy] after the fact … but to do so prior to its release raises a lot of questions.”
Friday afternoon, Dieng walked back his use of “unethical,” saying he’ll reserve full judgment until he hears directly from the mayor and police chief. Still, Dieng wants to hear from city attorneys on whether officials can or should be disciplined for intervening in an active investigation.
“No one is above the law,” Dieng said.
Councilor Brian Pine (P-Ward 3) said he isn’t sure what to make of the officials’ actions but that “the appearance, at this point, is rather disconcerting.”
“I haven’t had a chance to speak to [del Pozo], so this will be a chance to have that conversation,” Pine said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to have as open and candid a conversation as we can.”
Councilor Adam Roof (I-Ward 8) said constituents have contacted him about the issue, and he thinks they’re owed answers.
“Is this something that’s normal, or is it not? If it’s not normal, why was it done?” he asked. “Was it information gathering, or was it trying to push the needle? It’s a fair question to ask.”
Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) said she’s been out of town and hadn’t heard any specifics about the city attempting to influence the medical examiner’s process. Her main concern is whether everyone involved “followed the rules.”
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a police chief to … make sure the public has the correct information and that the health department is playing by their own rules,” Shannon said. “I don’t think questioning something is necessarily interfering. If there are gray areas, it’s fair to question it.”
Councilors Mason, Sharon Bushor (I-Ward 1), Karen Paul (D-Ward 6), Jack Hanson (P-East District) and Perri Freeman (P-Central District) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Councilor Franklin Paulino (D-North District) said he plans to recuse himself from discussions of the case since his job as a deputy Chittenden County state’s attorney creates a conflict of interest.
Monday’s meeting will begin 45 minutes early, at 6:15 p.m. instead of 7, to allow for the discussion, Wright said. He, too, said he won’t judge the situation until he has more information.
Wright added that on different days recently, he’d had both the mayor and del Pozo on his new WVMT radio show, “The Morning Drive with Marcus and Kurt,” during which he asked them about the investigation. Del Pozo specifically said “he does not agree with the characterization that he read” about his communications with state officials, Wright said.
Indeed, both del Pozo and Weinberger have maintained they acted properly.
But council members aren’t the only ones asking questions.
Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan contacted Weinberger to “express concerns” about the case. City emails show Donovan called the mayor the afternoon of April 10 — while the police chief held a press conference about Kilburn’s cause of death.
The emails don’t detail what was said. Donovan told Seven Days on Friday that while watching a Facebook Live broadcast of the press conference, he picked up the phone to call del Pozo’s boss. The attorney general declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing state police investigation.
Seven Days learned of the call after requesting public records regarding the Kilburn matter from the city on April 11 and 12.
The city provided the materials, including emails and text messages Thursday. Much of the material was redacted; the city cited various legal exemptions under the law, including attorney-client privilege. The information included some emails that Seven Days had previously obtained in a separate public records request sent to the state.
The call from Donovan, a Democrat, illustrates that within state government, questions about the investigation have been bipartisan. Seven Days has previously reported on questions raised by the administration of Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
But some city leaders did not seem concerned.
“We did a good job today of moderating what would have been a sensationalistic news cycle had we not worked aggressively to properly frame it,” del Pozo texted to the mayor’s chief of staff on the night of April 10.
When the investigation is complete, Donovan will decide whether charges against the officer are warranted.
Derek Brouwer contributed reporting.
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Councilor Shannon, who sold a house to Chief del Pozo, making upwards of $30,000 on the sale, should recuse herself from the discussion too.
This is how this administration deals with the death of an individual that calls into questioning the actions of a Burlington Police Officer. Both police chief and Mayor act like they are above reproach and never accept criticism from any party, be it a city resident or a state official. You think this behavior by our city officials would have occurred in previous administrations! Oh wait! We don’t have any occurrences of mentally challenged people being killed by a member of the BPD, do we?
It is rare that this type of corruption (or attempted corruption) receives such a public airing, due to the emails and perhaps texts (which at this point someone should probably be requesting) that have been disclosed. This type of “soft” corruption is problematic, to say the least. And it might say volumes about how this Mayor operates in other areas, which haven’t been exposed. Very troubling.
Can we have both Mayor and Chief of Police provide details of their unethical actions about this to the full council? Dieng wrote in an email”….Seriously, is that the kind of petty passive aggressive statement a grown man makes?
No more allowing Miro to cover his own ass in “executive session”. He should speak in public so everyone can hear. Stop enabling this arrogant Neo-liberal Huckster. He is supposed to be accountable to us, the public, it is in his job description. Enough already!
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a few words can serve the same purpose. The statement from the mayor’s office that their actions were about “bringing transparency” to the medical examiner’s report, says more about how far off the rails their need to always control the optics has gone, than a thousand word explanation could ever hope to.
This articles states the Departments use-of-force policy will be reviewed.
Current bill H.225.
Studies have been researched on the use of CEW’s (conducted electrical weapons) and how they
have impacted individuals; both those without a cardiac condition and those with.
How is it determined when to use this non-lethal device?
How would a member of Law Enforcement know if the individual has a cardiac condition prior to use?
as well they should…….THE BLUE WALL seems to have extended to the mayor;s office
“Councilor Shannon, who sold a house to Chief del Pozo, making upwards of $30,000 on the sale, should recuse herself from the discussion too..”
Yes, anyone who has ever done anything should recuse herself from everything.
Jordan Redell: We believe that all levels of government should be open to explaining what they have done and why”
Also Jordan Redell: if Weinberger and del Pozo appear at the meeting, they cannot make any public statements beyond what they have already stated
According to the Mayor’s Cheif of Staff: all government action must be explained to the Mayor of Burlington before information is made available to the public BUT the Mayor of Burlington shouldn’t be held to any standards of transparency.
The BPD has a history of shooting mentally challenged people that don’t need to be killed. For example the BPD killed a man a few years ago for no reason because they said they feared for their life. All he had was a knife and they were in body armor. Then a couple of years ago a mentally challenged man was killed in city hall park because the cop feared for his life! They act first then make up some story later…. They should be made to take polygraph tests!
Please tell me how the MAYOR would know whether or not a MEDICAL EXAMINER’S findings were wrong? Since when does the MAYOR know about deceased bodies? This is what the public calls EXCESSIVE FORCE that lead to death. This is why people don’t trust police. This is why people run from them. Corey Campbell needs to be terminated. It’s also sickening that Mr. Campbell is probably out of work under investigation getting PAID. This state is so sickening with all the stuff they try to hide. THE PUBLIC ISN’T STUPID! I pray for the Kilburn family and RIP Douglas Kilburn.
HALEY that’s a very good question and I agree with you.
“The situation is currently under investigation and we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation”
We did a good job today of moderating what would have been a sensationalistic news cycle had we not worked aggressively to properly frame it, del Pozo texted “
Clearly, del Pozo’s primary concern is about crafting the proper narrative for his own purposes, and not about transparency. I have yet to hear a word of concern for Mr. Kilburn or his family, who are left to deal with the avoidable and unnecessary tragedy of police brutality.
Mr. del Pozo embellishes Mr. Kilburn’s actions while downplaying his own officer’s conduct, and would have us believe Campbell only threw “a few” punches, that only resulted in “small, non-displaced” skull fractures. Nothing to see here folks, move along, and yet we see injuries very inconsistent with that carefully crafted narrative.
“Del Pozo insisted that he was not trying to strong-arm the state, just to ensure that it hadn’t screwed up.” If you’re buying that garbage, I’ve got an old lakeside generating plant to sell you.
Mr. Kilburn’s sister had a very simple statement that hasn’t been answered. “I don’t understand why they had to beat him so bad,”
When I read who Del Pozo was and where he came from I knew police brutality would descend on Burlington.
Del Pozo’s and Weinburger’s actions clearly demand an investigation. Transparency–my ads. CYA was what they were doing, it seems to me. As someone else asked above, who does MW think he is, knowing more about autopsy procedures than our own MEs? Ludicrous.
The idea that you aren’t allowed to question an official report that doesn’t seem right to you, is obviously wrong. We question official reports all the time.
You’re not a doctor, but when the doctor says you have an incurable disease, you question her diagnosis.
You’re not a tax accountant, but when the tax preparer says you owe the government $50,000, you say, “You must have made a mistake.”
You’re not a lawyer, but when the judge hands down a sentence that you think is too harsh, you say, “That doesn’t fit with the evidence.”
Do we believe that medical examiners never make mistakes? In this case, apparently other state medical examiners did question Dr. Shapiro’s conclusion that “homicide” was the cause of death.
I say stop paying taxes, put money in escrow,we the people don’t get paid for fuckin around and if we do we get fired, all these npa meetings and community events are lacking the voice because we’re done with the BS, THE UNFINISHED PROJECTS, THE PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY KNOW YET THEY STILL SIT AT THE KID’S TABLE AND SAY THEY CARE THEY WAKE UP EVERY DAY AND SAY THEY’RE FOR US AND EVERYDAY I WANNA WAKE UP TO A HUGE MIDDLE FINGER POINTING IN THEYRE DIRECTION ….