BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Burlington’s mayor answered questions on Friday about her executive order that requires all police department press releases to be approved by her office before being shared with the public.
In no uncertain terms, the mayor said she only wants press releases to contain facts about police cases that they say are necessary for the public to know.
We reported extensively this week on complaints by a defense attorney that a recent press release from Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad contained commentary that could make it difficult for his client to get a fair trial.
Murad sometimes includes someone’s arrest history and prior convictions in press releases on arrests, and opinions on what he sees as flaws in the criminal justice system.
Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak says under her new policy, that won’t happen anymore.
“So with those press releases, we’re really going to get stick with the facts and not additional information that’s not necessary,” said Mulvaney-Stanak, P-Burlington. “If folks want access to affidavits, something that could be accessed through the court, there’s multiple other ways to gather any other additional information that goes more into the details than is necessary in a press release from the Burlington Police Department.”
Mulvaney-Stanak contends that press releases from other departments represent only the facts.
The executive order will be in place until a formal press release policy is created.
The order does give the police department some leeway in emergency situations such as a missing person. Police still need to send the release to the mayor’s office, but they can release it if it’s an emergency.