If you looked through the haze and smoke from all those peaceful protests back in 2020, you saw some things. The Democrat Cop haters running Burlington, Vermont, for example, defunded the city police force. Before that, they had 92 sworn officers. Today, they are down to sixty-three, twenty-two of whom are on actual patrol. Why yes, crime is up.
We’ve been along for the ride, reporting on the slow-motion disaster that is Democrat rule in Burlington. A case study in progressive policy unfolding before our eyes. Yes, Burington has been a hippie haven for decades, but only recently have those decades piled up like snow and fallen over the back of the plow blade.
Democrats cannot accept that policy failures in other Democrat dumps doing business as urban plantations could produce similar results under their caring and thoughtful watch. Or perhaps they see them less as failures and more as opportunities to grow the government. Bureaucrats are like sandbags that hold back the swell of discontent. More is better, but not when it comes to public safety.
Burlington binged on BLM rhetoric, rushing to virtue signal alongside other Democrat-run cities. Places where a rise in property crime, assault, or murder might not move the needle when added to the hundreds already counted annually. But in Burlington, one extra murder is a big deal, as is the more significant rise in property crime. Illegal border crossings into the sanctuary State of Vermont have risen exponentially, even in winter. And they invited all of this upon themselves.
Burlington has had to authorize more cops, rolling back its promises to BLM. They approved a signing bonus and are looking everywhere to add bodies.
For example, on December 16, three new BPD officers graduated from the Vermont Police Academy and started their fifteen-week field training. Five more officers are anticipated to be hired to attend the next Academy class, which begins in February. The BPD is also hiring Community Service Officers, Community Support Liaisons, Dispatchers, and more.
Community what?
Community Service Officers (CSOs) are unarmed, unsworn officers who answer quality-of-life calls for service. Historically, the BPD had two; Chief Murad’s plan expanded the number. There are 10 at present, and the FY23 budget allocates for 12. The role is also a stepping stone to becoming a police officer.
Community Support Liaisons (CSLs) are embedded social workers with expertise in mental health, substance use disorder, and houselessness who help address social service issues. There are three CSLs in the hiring pipeline, and BPD hopes to add six by early 2023.
That’s all well and good. Maybe they can add human resources, but can any officer in Burlington, knowing the city will always be run by narrative-chasing progressives, have any expectation of support?
Are they the next Derek Chauvin, tossed to the media wolves and left to the mercy of Antifa or BLM? It has to be in the back of everyone’s mind, and that will impact every interaction.
Chauvin is in prison for murdering George Floyd, but Floyd had an overdose equivalent of Fentanyl in his blood. The symptoms linked to Chauvin’s restraint of Floyd are similar to that of an overdose. Maybe Chauvin or the other officer a the scene should have suspected. But neither a CSO nor a CSL is prepared to deal with a career criminal like Floyd, which doesn’t keep him from dying from a drug overdose.
I guess we’ll never know. But if you’re a cop, you know that, so why, unless you’re as ill-informed as most Americans, would you go to work for a Democrat city council and Democrat mayor who might toss you under a busload of cameras and microphones at the first chance to virtue signal to their Democrat pals across the increasingly fruitless plains.
They don’t have your back, and the people of Burlington who elected them are to blame.
Ironically enough, they are also the ones who will pay the highest price, for which – if history is any guide – they will continue to reward Democrats and support even bigger budgets while crime rises and public safety declines.
Hey, it’s not all bad news. Traffic stops are down in Burlington. Can you guess why?
