Burlington City Councilors approve recommendations for police department

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Burlington City Councilors on Monday approved a list of recommendations for the city police department and a timeline for them.

At the end of 2021, an outside consulting firm called CNA recommended a slew of changes. Of the 150 recommendations, some have been done and others will take a little more time.

Before councilors on Monday was a list of items, the police commission and a working group noted as top priorities. Among the highest priorities are investigating use-of-force incidents to better understand disparities among Black individuals and creating a Community Mental Health Advisory Committee to sit in on training and promote transparency.

City Councilor Joe MaGee, P-Ward 3, says getting these priorities in order was just a small piece of the work.

“This isn’t a final report on the CNA recommendations. The city is going to be addressing these for months and years to come,” MaGee said. “This work can’t happen overnight and that’s out of necessity.”

Also listed as high priorities are a complaint-tracking system and additional policies related to people in crisis.

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