The police chief for Vermont’s biggest city is finally speaking out about trolling a local government critic through a burner Twitter account, something he previously denied.
Speaking to Seven Days, Burlington Chief Brandon del Pozo copped to setting up an anonymous Twitter account to troll an activist and government critic earlier this year, the outlet reported Thursday.
Though del Pozo has since deleted the burner account, @WinkleWatchers, which he created to mock the outspoken Burlington resident, Charles Winkleman, the cop had denied his involvement when speaking to Seven Days in late July.
On Thursday, del Pozo backtracked, saying he’s “disappointed” in his actions, which he deemed “a mistake.”
“I regret it, and I’m sorry,” del Pozo said.
The officer said he created the account while off duty on July 4 and used his personal cell to digitally mock the activist, who is sometimes nicknamed “Chicky” and is known for critiquing those in power.
According to Seven Days, del Pozo told Mayor Miro Weinberger what he’d done back on July 28, leading the politician to place del Pozo on paid administrative leave and told to stay away from social media.
Del Pozo was also stripped of his gun, badge, and his city phone.
An internal investigation conducted after del Pozo’s admission “very quickly … turned up a number of things,” the mayor said, such as a finding that the officer’s behavior was “linked to an underlying medical condition,” which was then “treated as a verified medical situation.”
Though neither del Pozo nor Weinberger have revealed the former’s specific diagnosis, the officer said he sustained a brain injury during a near-fatal bike accident in June 2018. The chief also hinted at “challenges” he dealt with earlier this year when the department was criticized for use of force.
“I responded to negativity with negativity in a way that doesn’t become a chief of police,” he said.
Though WDRB.com reported Friday that the investigation determined del Pozo hadn’t done anything illegal nor anything that explicitly violated Burlington policy, the mayor said his conduct was “unacceptable, inappropriate, and not consistent with what I expect from the Chief of Police.”
According to the mayor, del Pozo then took six weeks of medical leave for mental health treatment.
Upon resuming his role in mid-September, Seven Days reports, del Pozo was only verbally admonished by the mayor, who then warned him any repeat offense would lead to immediate dismissal. Weinberger said he opted not to punish del Pozo further due to his “otherwise … exemplary” service, noting the “duty to be compassionate about [mental health challenges].”
Del Pozo had a similar incident in July 2017, prior to his reported bike accident, when he used his personal Facebook account to directly contradict the version of events reported by an 18-year-old student who publicly accused Burlington cops of touching her inappropriately during an altercation.
For Winkleman, who previously suspected the cop and is “amazed that [the administration] would even admit” his involvement, the activist wants to know how del Pozo be held accountable and why it was previously kept under wraps when he claims to regret his actions.