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Where Vermont stands on police reform efforts

A Burlington Police Department officer equipped with a body camera.
Burlington Police Department
/
Burlington Police Department, courtesy
In this hour, Vermont Edition looks at police reforms underway in cities across the state.

Live call-in discussion: It has been nearly two years since George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis and nationwide protests calling for police reform erupted. In Vermont, some cities have created police oversight committees, while some police departments have increased training and diversified their forces. In this hour, host Connor Cyrus talks with law enforcement leaders, a scholar and activists about what's being done to bridge the divide between people of color and the police. We also open the phone lines to hear from listeners.

Our guests are:

  • Stephanie Seguino, a member of the Burlington Police Commission and a University of Vermont economics professor who has studied racial disparities in policing
  • Chief Norma Hardy, Brattleboro Police Department
  • Col. Matthew Birmingham, Vermont State Police
  • Capt. Barbara Kessler, Vermont State Police, Fair and Impartial Policing Unit
  • Mia Schultz, president of the Rutland area branch of the NAACP
  • Steffen Gillom, president of the Windham County branch of the NAACP

An earlier version of this story misspelled Stephanie Seguino's name.

Broadcast live at noon on Thursday, Feb. 10; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or tweet us @vermontedition.

Connor Cyrus joined Vermont Public as host and senior producer in March 2021. He was a morning reporter at WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island. A graduate of Lyndon State College (now Northern Vermont University), he started his reporting career as an intern at WPTZ, later working for WAGM in Presque Isle, Maine, and WCAX Channel 3, where he covered a broad range of stories from Vermont’s dairy industry to the nurses’ strikes at UVM Medical Center. He’s passionate about journalism’s ability to shed light on complex or difficult topics, as well as giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Tedra joined Vermont Public as a producer for Vermont Edition in January 2022. Before moving to Vermont, she was a journalist in New York City for 20 years. She has a master’s degree in journalism from New York University.