Burlington’s Progressive mayor has signed an executive order mandating that all press releases issued by the Burlington Police Department be approved by her office.
Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak cites the city’s Comprehensive Personnel Policy Manual that states “[a]ll press releases will be issued by the Mayor or designee” in issuing the order. The police department must submit all releases to the mayor’s office for approval. If a release must be issued due to an emergency the order sets specific protocols for labeling and notifying the mayor’s office.
The executive order comes in the wake of a request by a defense attorney for a gag order. According to Seven Days, Public Defender Joshua O’Hara says recent comments about Michael Reynolds by the police chief could threaten his client’s right to a fair trial. In a December 30th press release, Chief Jon Murad said that Reynolds “has more police encounters than anyone else in our records management system—more than 1,850 entries” and later adds “We have an answer for this kind of violent, incorrigible, antisocial behavior: Vermont’s ‘habitual criminal’ statute.”
