Burlington deputy police chief resigns after social media scandal

Burlington Deputy Police Chief Jan Wright is out-- forced to resign for her social media activity.

The scandal at the Burlington Police Department started last summer with then-Chief Brandon del Pozo. He created a burner Twitter account to troll a critic of the city.

Del Pozo resigned in December.

When Mayor Miro Weinberger named Deputy Chief Wright as acting chief, it led to another admission. She told the mayor that she, too, had created social media accounts under a fake name to respond to critics.

The city had already concluded an investigation into Wright's case and reprimanded her. But reports in Seven Days and Vt. Digger uncovered more posts from Wright's anonymous accounts that were not included in the city's original investigation, so the Burlington Police Department last week announced it was looking into those.

Now, Wright is out.

Acting Chief Jennifer Morrison announced Monday evening via email that Wright's last day is Feb. 21. Morrison wrote, "The recent concerns about Deputy Chief Wright's use of social media have become an impediment to how we interact with and maintain trust with important segments of the Burlington community."

Morrison says Wright's last two weeks will be on desk duty.

In a statement Monday night, Mayor Miro Weinberger, D-Burlington, said that Wright "took multiple actions that damaged City relationships and eroded the public’s and my trust in her judgment beyond repair... she has agreed to my request that her service to the City end at this time, for the benefit of the Department and of the City."