 Are you good? Okay. Hello everyone. Hello. Welcome and thank you all for being here. My name is Tyler Pastorek. I use he or they pronouns. I live and work in Burlington and I'm a part of People for Police Accountability. We're a group of Burlington community members that have been fighting for true police oversight in our city for over two years. We're gathered here this afternoon as a community with local, state and national leaders to stand in support of ballot item number seven, Community Control of Police, which Burlingtonians will have the opportunity to vote for on March 7th. With us today to speak, we have Jean Bergman, ward two city counselor and former city attorney, Jerry Greenfield Field and Ben Cohen, co-founders of Ben and Jerry's who have been supporting criminal justice reform efforts around the country. Allie Jang, ward seven city counselor. Nolan Rampe representing the Howard Center Workers Union. Indy Shownhair of ACLU Vermont and finally Jess Laporte of People for Police Accountability. We're also here to celebrate. As a community, we've demonstrated our power to take action on urgent issues when our elected officials fail to. This proposal is on the ballot because of hundreds of unpaid hours spent talking to our neighbors and gathering signatures of support. So I'm going to give a little background on the proposal and then turn it over to our speakers. We'll leave a little bit of time for questions at the end and then we're going to cut it off so we can relax and eat ice cream together. Public safety is a big topic in Burlington right now and rightfully so. We deserve a public safety system that keeps everyone safe and a big part of effective and just systems is accountability and oversight. In 2020, black members of our community led a movement that brought into focus the fact that our city charter gives the police chief unchecked authority over disciplinary decisions in the police department. This movement focused on some disturbing use of force cases with public body cam footage. Members of our community were assaulted, faced life altering injuries and one was killed. All of the officers were kept on the force following the incidents. One of them is now the vice president of the police union. Because of the charter, the best the city could do in response to movement demands was pay one of the officers $300,000 to resign. The mayor himself acknowledged that the charter is a real problem. In 2020, he said that the current charter is problematic and there is urgency to amend it. He further stated that such monopoly of important authority is an aberration in our democratic system and we are likely to face continued disputes over future disciplinary actions until this issue is addressed and he was right. At the time he promised to address these issues with our charter. Since then racial disparities and policing have persisted but here we are two years later and even the mayor's latest public safety plan has no mention of addressing the fundamental issue of our city charter. This charter change would establish a board of community representatives that in cases of police misconduct would have the authority to initiate investigations and make disciplinary decisions. The board is built on transparency. They must have just cause for the decisions they make and they're subject to appeals. It does not remove the chief from disciplinary decisions. It just allows the board to oversee and step in if they deem the department's response insufficient. Please look into the proposal yourself at peopleforpoliceaccountability.com. We've talked to thousands of our neighbors and have found overwhelming support for this proposal from individuals and state and local and statewide organizations alike. We as a community put this on the ballot together and we have a rare opportunity to decide for ourselves to make our current policing system incrementally better for all people. I hope everyone will join me in voting yes for community oversight and in sending a clear message to our elected officials that we deserve public safety systems that will keep everyone safe. Thank you. I miss that Jerry Greenfield's enthusiasm. I used to get it a lot. That's pretty awesome Jerry. Good afternoon. I'm Gene Bergman ward two city counselor and I am really proud to stand here with friends to support ballot number seven item number seven. Through a people powered movement they have made possible a real and serious conversation about community oversight of policing a conversation that was cut short two years ago by the mayor's veto. It is no secret as Tyler just noted that we've witnessed in Burlington ex police excessive use of force against young men of color and victims of mental illness. Officer involved shootings and fatalities and scandals that led to the resignation of two police chiefs. Police commissioner Stephanie Seguino has documented racial disparities and police stops for years. The ACLU recently pointed out the disparities in the use of force and political and police detentions of black folk. Burlington also does not live in a bubble. We've seen cases throughout Vermont and the rest of the nation from Bennington Vermont to the Vermont state police to Memphis Tennessee. Clearly community trust in police has eroded. We know trust is critical for public safety and to restore and maintain trust. We need greater community oversight. This is not an experiment as opponents claim. It is a reform long needed long delayed and long denied. This proposal codifies the principle that the police should not oversee themselves. They are accountable to the communities that they serve. Let me make a few quick points to rebut some of our opponents claims. This is no more an experiment than the call in 2020 for funding mental health workers, community support of officers or having dialogues with new American communities to get at the root causes. Funding that we are only just starting to see because of the work of these folks behind me and others around this community. This proposal is not biased against officers. The board must find just cause for discipline and officers have appeal rights. The constitution of which we must adhere to requires due process. The structure of this proposal maintains the chief's authority and union grievance and arbitration rights for the vast majority of cases. And as I said provides due process for cases that are taken to the board. There's a claim that this board is not accountable to elected officials, to politicians. This board should not be beholden to politicians. The board's job is to be an independent finder of whether or not police misconduct occurred and what the appropriate sanction should be. And despite the independence, let's be clear the council and the mayor have tremendous control over the selection process and can even in appropriate circumstances remove a board member who's not doing their job. The claims that the opponents make on this and on several of the other ones are just factually not true. There are some claims that other folks might take on or we might get questioned about. So let me just end by recalling the CNA report and its call to rebuild a consensus in our community around public safety. There is room it seems to me for honest policy debate over the details of this proposal. But I am sorely disappointed that the mayor and others have taken a road that doubles down on false narratives, blames other people for misdeeds and for inaction and does not show the leadership that we as a community need. And I am glad to be with other folks in standing up to that and in bringing forward this conversation. It is a it is time for a change. It is time for a change on oversight and I hope the voters will join me in voting yes on number seven. Thank you very much. Hello I'm Jerry Greenfield co-founder of Ben and Jerry's. I'm here today as a Vermonter but also as a representative of Ben and Jerry's ice cream who are proud to support this coalition. Since the murder of George Floyd, Ben and I have traveled around the country advocating for better public safety and accountability. It is an honor and a privilege to be standing alongside community leaders in our home state right here who have been doing the same work to improve public safety in Burlington. Burlington has long been home to bold ideas about how to build a better world. Over the last three decades we've seen the city thrive when it leans in and lives up to the values of its residents. That's what ballot item seven is about. It's about creating independent civilian oversight of the Burlington police department in order to improve our public safety right here. But it will also set a standard of exceptional public safety that other cities can strive for and that we can be proud of. Thank you and here's Ben. I just want to congratulate this amazing group of people who have taken the effort to stand up for justice and to really use our democracy in order to improve the quality of life for all the people in Burlington. This is about embracing accountability. You know, the motto of the police is protect and serve. Protect and serve who? Protect and serve the citizens of Burlington. It's the citizens of Burlington who authorize the police to use physical violence, including lethal force in our name. And therefore, it's the responsibility of the citizens of Burlington to see that that power is not abused. That's what the Citizen Control Board is about. The police work for the citizens of Burlington. And it's a reminder that public safety is not one person's job. It's a job for the entire community. And it's improved when we invite people from all parts of the community to work together. From Burlington natives, to new Americans, to people of color, to parents, mental health workers, and elected officials. It's all about embracing accountability. Thank you. Hi, everyone. Thanks for coming. We are part way through our remarks. And I just wanted to invite folks who have come while we were talking, make yourselves comfortable in the seats, or you can grab a sign and join us up here. Do a quick shuffle before Ali begins speaking. There's five more signs. You can feel free to come up if you want to. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for being here. And it's been over six years that I've been a city council, but I have never come to a press conference where we have babies and also elderlies, all generations represented. Thank you so much, babies and mommies, for bringing them here. Thank you. Yes, my name is Ali Jang, independent city councilor representing Ward 7. I am an independent and I am not a progressive. I am not a Democrat. I am not an independent behind the Democrat voting Democrat. No, I am just the community. I care about the people of the city, regardless of your race, your background, who you love. I love Burlington, right? The fact that many people in this city do not trust the police speaks volume to the need for our city to restore an independent public oversight. This need should have been granted since 2018 when young black people were victimized by some police officers in Burlington. There have been several attempts to do the right thing in providing the level of accountability that all our community members needs and deserve. But to date, no action. The time is right and the time is now without further delays. I urge all voters in the city of Burlington to vote yes on ballot item number seven and in joining nearly 2,000 Burlingtonians that have signed the petition. So this ballot already received 5% of the voters and the rest is on your hands. I would like to particularly thank our community members that have worked nearly two years in engaging the community in this important community-led ballot item. This is basically a high level of public engagement. This is unprecedented. These efforts have checked all the benchmarks of community engagement such as gathering inputs, giving people choices, demonstrating leadership in decision making by allowing voters to finally have a say about the police. This is it. This administration of Miro Weinberger and its democratic city councillors are sending misleading information to voters. This is wrong. This is not true. This is not right. And whoever is reading this, please send it to your recycle and find the facts on the ballot item number seven. This is false narratives. Now the democrats were supposed to override the veto of Miro Weinberger, let's say two years ago. Two years ago when the city council brought similar ballot and they refused by the mayor vetoing and we were not supposed to sustain that veto. It's wrong. And now it's back here but led by the police, by the people, reason why this is now very powerful. When it comes to public safety, it's everybody's responsibility. It's not only the city council or the elected official, all and every single one of us. The city council failed to act. They failed to do the right thing. They failed to provide the level of accountability that is needed and deserve. This critical ballot items is not by any means an experiment. Not an experiment. It is to support the police officers to do their job right when nobody is looking. This ballot item is to support a safe and vibrant downtown. This ballot item is the only arsenal in our disposal in delivering quality and justice when it comes to policing. The Burlington Police Department can no longer police themselves and I urge every single one of us to show up strong and vote yes on ballot item number seven. Thank you all for being here. My name is Indy Schoenhair. My pronouns are they them and I'm the policy advocate at the ACLU of Vermont. I'd like to take a few minutes today to explain some of the context that has brought us to the upcoming vote in Burlington as well as a statewide reform under consideration by the legislature this year. In the wake of the police murder of George Floyd in 2020, leaders across Vermont committed to reimagine the role of police in our communities, increase police accountability, and advance racial justice initiatives. Though some important progress has been made in the last three years, like the adoption of the model use of force policy in 2020, we have seen too many elected officials and law enforcement leaders backpedal in their commitment to obstruct necessary police reforms, including legislative efforts to end qualified immunity or establish a statewide Brady Letter database and community efforts to implement meaningful oversight of police in Bennington and Burlington. In 2021, community members in Burlington launched a citizen driven petition to put community control of policing on the ballot. And despite various efforts over the last three years to put this before the residents of Burlington, this will be the first time that community members will actually have their voices heard on this issue. On March 7th, Burlington voters will consider this proposed charter change. To foster meaningful oversight, community oversight boards must be empowered to receive, investigate, and adjudicate complaints of police misconduct and discipline or remove members of the police force if needed. By empowering community members to participate in police oversight, municipalities can foster greater transparency, accountability, and trust. This kind of civic participation lends much needed checks and balances to the relationship between police departments and the people they serve. Community control boards represent one of the most promising opportunities to create accountability and trust between law enforcement and the communities that are all around us in this state. So outside of the upcoming vote in Burlington, legislators in Montpelier have the opportunity to advance legislation that enables all Vermont communities to enhance police accountability. As introduced, S75 would remove a major hurdle to meaningful community oversight of police by authorizing municipalities to create community oversight boards without undergoing a charter change. This bill would empower these boards to receive, investigate, and adjudicate complaints of misconduct against law enforcement officers and grant them the appropriate disciplinary power. The legislative change would create an easier pathway for towns interested in community oversight so that they do not have to navigate some of the same roadblocks Burlington experienced over the last two years. Whether it is in the legislature or the ballot box on March 7th, it is critical that community members make their voices heard on this important issue. If you want to learn more about S75 and other policing reforms, you can go to our website, ACLUVT.org, and see how you can get engaged. Thank you. My name is Nolan Rampe. I'm a clinician at Howard Center and I'm the vice president of our union, AFSCME 1674. Every day, more than 600 direct care service providers at Howard Center provide services to people in our community struggling with mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities. All too often, these are the same people that are most likely to be victimized by police here in Burlington and throughout Vermont. As Howard Center workers, our purpose is to serve the most vulnerable in our community, and we see support for community control of police as an extension of that purpose. We've seen time and time again that the police departments across the country are completely incapable of holding themselves accountable. Too often, the use of excessive force and the disproportionate targeting of minorities by police officers has either been ignored or actively covered up by their superiors. Mayor Weinberger and police chief Murad have made statements in opposition to community oversight. They claimed that community oversight would decrease retention rates of police officers and hinder efforts to rebuild the police department. It's deeply concerning that Murrow Weinberger wants to retain police officers that would rather quit their job than be held accountable by the community they're supposed to serve. And it's deeply concerning that Chief Murad sees community oversight as a hindrance rather than foundational to rebuilding the Burlington Police Department. This outlook raises serious questions that get to the heart of the purpose and function of police in our society. On a national, state and local level, we have seen that police are incapable of holding themselves accountable. There are a myriad of problems that we must face when it comes to policing our cities. Community oversight will by no means address all of them, but it will be an important and necessary step in that direction. Thank you. I'm the final speaker, so if you're getting antsy for the ice cream, we understand. My name is Jessica Port and I identify with she, her pronouns. I was born and raised here in Vermont and I've been a part of racial justice work in Vermont since I moved back in 2020, coinciding with a time in our state where we were having more of these conversations for the first time. I'm incredibly proud to be a part of people for police accountability. It's a group of citizens of Burlington, concerned residents and people like myself who have since moved out of town because it's exorbitantly expensive. I'm proud of the work that we do because from the very beginning it has been community centered, community based, community informed and highly transparent. This charter change proposal has been available on a website since 2021 with very minor changes to it that were also updated on that public website immediately after. I'm actually thankful for the opportunity that the mayor's veto created for us to get out and have more of these conversations in our community. For the past two summers, incredible amounts of volunteer hours have gone into having those conversations on people's doorsteps and at community events and I'm incredibly proud of the work that we have done. I believe that the community control of police board is essential for Burlington and as we were hearing from the ACLU, there is movement across the state in this direction. It's essential because we do not have an accurate and full picture of the role that policing plays in our community today. When the Battery Park movement was operating in Burlington in 2020, we had dozens of people disclosed to us incidents of misconduct, whether violent or not that they had experienced at the hand of the police. And that's when we started asking, well, what are the mechanisms to report these? Learning that it is only through the Burlington Police Department itself that our citizens can raise concerns about police conduct. And it's not just, this isn't just about surfacing violent incidents because unfortunately we do tend to hear about those. It's about the ongoing neglect and lack of professionality of our police. It's about profiling that happens in the small moments when somebody gets a ticket for jaywalking. And it's incredibly important for our city to have a clear picture of policing, the role of the police and the experience of the police. And I say the experience of those who are police because we are not all policed equally. I personally do not have experience with the Burlington Police officers trying to arrest me as an individual and I will never claim to have that experience. But I don't think that we need to fabricate stories about the reality here in Burlington to understand the impact that policing has on those who are unhoused in a housing crisis. On those who are struggling with drug abuse. On those who are people of color who are visibly presenting differently. Those who are experiencing mental health crises. I often hear from members of the community that are experiencing in their household or their family a mental health crisis and wanting other resources to be able to respond to those incidents. And when the police do come and if it doesn't go well, they deserve a platform to share their stories. We believe that the Community Control of Police Board is an opportunity for us to understand policing better and to provide an independent body that has investigatory and disciplinary power that displaces the sole decision making from the chief of police and will continue to do that work in a transparent manner. So vote yes on seven and have a conversation with us if leading up to town meeting day. If you don't feel that you understand the proposal. There are people here today. There are people out in your community. There are all kinds of folks talking about this proposal. So don't say it's for a lack of transparency. Don't say that you didn't understand the proposal. Come to us. We're ready to have a conversation. Thank you. And do I release it? Are you going to finish? Thank you everyone. That's all the speakers we have. We could make time for question if there's burning questions or we can just eat ice cream. I'm not getting the sense of burning questions. Yeah, let's hang out. If you have questions, want to come up and talk about things, please do so. And yeah, thanks again for being here and for standing with us.