Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger is expected to appoint acting police Chief Jon Murad as the Queen City’s next top cop.
Four people with knowledge of the mayor’s decision, but who were not authorized to speak about it, confirmed the news to Seven Days. The mayor has scheduled a press conference to announce his decision on Thursday afternoon.
Murad has been the city’s acting chief since June 2020. He was one of two finalists in Burlington’s search for a new chief — a position that’s been filled on a temporary basis since December 2019, when former chief Brandon del Pozo resigned amid a social media scandal.
A Vermonter and former NYPD cop, Murad served as del Pozo’s deputy chief for nearly two years before being named acting chief. Since then, Murad has been at the center of the city’s contentious debates over policing, vocally opposing the council’s decision in summer 2020 to reduce department staffing by 30 percent through attrition.
Councilors, including some Progressives who initially pushed for the cuts, agreed last fall to hire more cops after an independent consultant recommended a larger department.
The council is expected to vote on Murad’s nomination on Monday. It’s unclear whether Murad will garner the needed majority vote, given his past clashes with council Progs, who hold six of 12 council seats.
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