BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - The Burlington City Council called an emergency meeting to hear from protesters who have been camping out across the street from the police station and holding evening marches for two weeks, calling for the firing of three city police officers over excessive use of force.
The six progressive members of the 12-member council called for the Tuesday meeting, saying they are “disturbed by the deep inequities perpetuated by our city government.”
In a letter to the council, protesters named three officers they said “have displayed a pattern of violence without provocation or just cause, particularly targeted towards Black men and resulting in the death of a White man.”
The protesters’ list of demands, in addition to the firing of the officers, includes that all officers consistently use body cameras and that funding for the Burlington Police Department instead be invested in the city’s communities of color.
City officials say that the three officers were cleared of the allegations and that those cases have already been resolved by prosecutors.
The city is facing two federal lawsuits over accusations of excessive force and brutality against two Black men by police in separate episodes outside bars in September 2018.
Hundreds of people called in to the meeting to urge the council to support the protesters’ demands.
“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,” said Jess Laporte, one of the protest leaders.
City attorney Eileen Blackwood read the clause in the police union contract that would legally prevent from the city from taking action.
“I don’t think the city can take further action against these officers for these incidents without exposing the city to significant legal action and potentially substantial damages, as well as possible reinstatement,” she said, according to WPTZ-TV.
The council passed a resolution calling for a charter change that would allow for a public body to make final disciplinary decisions in use-of-force cases, WCAX-TV reported. It also wants universal use of body cameras by police and timely release of body camera footage in cases of misconduct and use of force. Council members said they will not support a future union contract with the Burlington Police Officers Association if it does not change how officers are held accountable.
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The story has been corrected to reflect that the council, not progressives, passed the resolution.
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