Burlington is sorting through 15 applicants who want to be the city’s next chief of police and will use a 12-person hiring committee to pick the winning candidate, officials announced on Monday.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police will help whittle the group down to five candidates before the 12-person hiring committee, which includes representatives from city government, city council, the police commission and community, chooses two finalists.
Interviews are expected to happen in July and August.
The ultimate pick will take over from interim police chief Shawn Burke and lead a department that has faced staffing challenges in recent years. Burke has led the department since former police chief Jon Murad resigned in early 2025.
“The next Chief of Police will play a vital role in continuing the Burlington Police Department’s ongoing rebuilding efforts, strengthening public trust, and ensuring the department is well-positioned to meet Burlington’s evolving safety needs and in ways that embody our community’s values and priorities,” Mulvaney-Stanak said in statement.
The committee includes two Burlington city councilors, Buddy Singh (D-South District) and Melo Grant (P-Central District), both of whom serve on the Public Safety Committee. Grant previously chaired the committee before she was ousted and replaced by Singh earlier this year.
Former city council president and current police commissioner Karen Paul and police commission chair Robert Depper will also serve on the committee.
Also part of the grou: the mayor’s deputy chief of staff Jen Monroe Zakaras; Community and Economic Development Office head Kara Alnasrawi and Tiffany Katsuva, who leads the trusted community voices program in the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
The head of the Burlington police union, Officer Padric Hartnett, will have a seat at the table, as will Colby Delaire, who represents the city’s major municipal employee union.
Youth support nonprofit King Street Center’s executive director Shabnam Nolan and Howard Center CEO Sandy McGuire will participate in the hiring process, as will Mark Bouchett, co-owner of household goods store Homeport and a Church Street Marketplace commissioner. Bouchett’s role was previously announced at Mulvaney-Stanak’s “Burlington is Back” press conference.
Bouchett’s appointment signals the primacy of Church Street in the city’s public safety considerations. The increase in theft and quality-of-life offenses on the pedestrian mall has taken center stage in public debate over the issue.
Mulvaney-Stanak said she will provide further updates on the hiring process at the city council’s July 13 meeting.
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