In the wake of a single night of multiple shooting incidents and an arson in Burlington this past weekend, Mayor Miro Weinberger is calling on Vermont leaders to prioritize the drug crisis and public safety.
Beginning Sunday evening Burlington police responded to reports of gunfire on Main Street, a double homicide, a person who said he was shot in the foot after being robbed of drugs and an arson in the vestibule of the police department.
The shootings are not related to each other, but are both thought to be drug related. At a press conference Monday carried by MyNBC5, Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger said it illustrates how the drug crisis in Vermont has fundamentally changed and must become the state’s top public health and safety priority.
“I do think what we are seeing in terms of a drug crisis is something that we are seeing great concern about throughout the state and the drug crisis needs to be understood as the state’s top public health and public safety priority," said Weinberger. "This is something that I’ve been saying for a long time. It is something that the City Council has now voted on and I’ve yet to see that kind of recognition from state leaders that the drug crisis has changed fundamentally since the pandemic. That we are facing new types of drug threats that they have an impact on this community that is far greater. We are not going in the right direction and we’re going to continue to do everything we can to respond to it. I think we need a broader response as well.”
Much of the criminal activity occurs downtown, raising concerns of local merchants.
Burlington Business Association Executive Director Kelly Devine says it is crucial that the state ramp up its response.
“Especially because the state runs much of our mental health system and it supports our families," said Devine. "Our corrections system and our judicial system are all through the state. And those are key components of addressing the problem we have. And so I think it’s important to have the state engage. But it’s more of a long term solution I think. And Burlington is an important part of the state of Vermont, but it isn’t the only city that’s facing these problems. So we’re looking at talking with some of those other key communities and downtowns in Vermont about how we collectively could put forward a message that asks the state to take some action that would cover the whole state, not just Chittenden County, and address the fact that cities like Montpelier, Barre, even Middlebury are seeing similar problems to what we’re seeing in Burlington. Not to the same level, but they certainly are seeing them.”
The Howard Center is the nonprofit designated organization that provides mental health, developmental disability and substance use services for Chittenden County. CEO Bob Bick notes that the mayor has long prioritized the opioid crisis and urged action at the state level.
“There are opportunities to expand access to services that could be funded by opioid settlement dollars that the state has been sitting on," said Bick. "And so he’s very much hoping that those funds can be released very quickly. I think that there’s some transportation issues around the state that could make it easier for individuals to get to treatment. And then certainly, although continuing to be more controversial than some of the other options, is safe injection sites and whether the administration and the legislature can move on that item to make it a possibility here in Vermont.”
With not only Burlington, but the state, experiencing a surge in drug-related crime, Bick cautioned against scapegoating people struggling with addiction or seeking treatment.
“There’s certainly an overlap between crime and with individuals who are involved in illicit drug trade," Bick said. "But I think we need to be cautious about seeing individuals who are struggling with substance use, particularly opiate use, as an easy target for all of the other problems that our communities are facing.”
Burlington’s Police Chief and mayor are also calling on the state legislature to strengthen gun laws. In the first incident Sunday evening, police say a gun was discharged on Main Street. Because no one was injured it is considered a misdemeanor offense. Chief Jon Murad and Mayor Weinberger want the legislature to make such actions a felony.
