Outgoing Burlington chief hopes mayor finds replacement “more with the views that she has”

By Michael Bielawski,

Former Burlington police chief Jon Murad was on the Morning Drive again last week. Now formally no longer working for first-term Progressive Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, he was able to confirm that she and himself “don’t align so much” on policy.

“The plan was always to depart,” Murad said on Tuesday. “I gave six months' notice so that the city could find a good replacement and do the processes necessary to find a police chief who can work with the mayor and whose views will align more with the views that she has.”

Jon Murad

The chief was put on paid leave about two weeks before he was originally anticipated to depart. He said he looked forward to helping the new interim chief, Sean Burke, who transferred from working as chief for South Burlington.

He said of the sudden departure, “Ours [his and the mayor’s views] don’t align so much so that was purposeful in so far as how this is ending.” He also said, “The explanation was for ‘clarity of leadership’ or something.”

One area that he and the mayor may have had dispute involved the department’s handling of press releases, which are now vetted by the mayor's office via a new policy by Mulvaney-Stanak. Murad said it’s appropriate at times to note trends that impact the department.

“I believe that media is a component of that, telling [the department’s] story and I think as long as what you are talking about is the operations or needs or direct actions of the police department.”

He said it is incumbent that a chief be able to say, “Hey these things are happening, I want to either point out the excellent work that’s being done by the men and women, I want to point out this issue that we have in our city or our system that is directly impacting the police department or the work that we are able to do or the service that we are able to provide.”

KeepVermontSafe.com has covered the ongoing crime trends and officer staffing trends for the Queen City via the monthly chief’s reports. Generally, Murad and his staff has been dealing with more crimes with fewer officers, largely exasperated by the defunding via attrition that occurred in 2020. Officer morale - largely based on the perception that the city is unsupportive - is a constant issue according to a police survey in 2024.

Murad had been with the Burlington department for seven years, including five as chief. He will continue to live in the Queen City and he’s open to new opportunities including but not limited to law enforcement.

“I will continue to live in Burlington,” he said. “I don’t want to go anywhere. And I love this city. I was born in it, grew up in Chittenden County. My parents taught at the university for more than three decades.”

Murad said that Burke, “is amazing and going to do great things for the police department.” Burke doesn’t wish to be the permanent chief, so he will step down once there is a new hire.

He had looked forward to working more with him. He said, “Certainly, there were things that I had hoped to achieve in those two weeks. I had hoped to be able to be a resource to Chief Burke."

Murad said there were a few things still on his desk that he had intended to deal with that are now Burke’s responsibility. One was an awards ceremony for heroic or exemplary acts by officers. It was to have been overseen by Murad during the two-week overlap, which never happened.

“Certainly, the men and women that were going to be honored deserve those honors,” Murad said. “It includes an officer who was stabbed in the line of duty in 2024. It includes some really exemplary acts of officers deescalating conflicts.”

He heard from supportive callers. One emotional caller said, “He came in in an impossible situation, and it's a shame that our mayor, actually it's disgusting, that she did not let him live out his final days. We are very proud. He goes forward knowing that he did an amazing job and it’s a shame.”

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle