To conclude a tumultuous week for the Burlington Police Department, Mayor Miro Weinberger held a press conference Friday to name Jennifer Morrison as interim chief of police, according to multiple media reports.
Morrison is a former chief of the Colchester Police Department and former president of the Vermont Association of Chiefs of Police.
A written statement released by the mayor's office Friday evening said Morrison's interim tenure is set to begin Jan. 7, following a confirmation by the Burlington City Council. Steps toward conducting a national search for a new police chief will also get underway in January, according to the statement.
The week began with Weinberger holding a press conference to announce that Brandon del Pozo had resigned as Burlington's chief of police. Del Pozo's resignation came just days after Seven Days reported that he'd used a fake Twitter profile to heckle a critic over the summer and then lied when asked about it by the newspaper.
Multiple media outlets also reported Friday that Burlington Police Deputy Chief Jan Wright is now on administrative leave. Wright had briefly been named acting chief following del Pozo's resignation, but was replaced by Monday evening after she told the mayor she'd used a Facebook account under a fake name to interact with people.
On Thursday, Weinberger told Vermont Edition that the city would solicit an independent review of social media use at the department, and that an update of social media policy is in the works.
Friday's statement from the mayor's office said Anita Tinney, with the Employee and Labor Relations Academy, will begin overseeing that review on Jan. 3.
Update 7:10 p.m. This post was updated with information from the mayor's press release.
