By Eric Blaisdell
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BARRE – Police chiefs across central Vermont deny using any fake social media accounts to heckle critics after the chief in Burlington resigned for just that.
The chiefs say they will be talking about the incident with their officers and looking at their own social media policies.
Last week, Seven Days published a story saying Chief Brandon del Pozo had admitted to using a fake Twitter account in July to respond to a critic. Del Pozo resigned Monday after initially lying about the account in July.
Hours after his resignation was announced, the city said Deputy Chief Jan Wright, who had been appointed acting chief, had told Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger she used a fake Facebook account to engage citizens in police policy talk. Deputy Chief Jon Murad is now the acting chief of police for Burlington.
Barre City Police Chief Tim Bombardier said he doesn’t have any fake social media accounts, and doesn’t have a personal Facebook account. Though he does have one for his now-dead dog Maxx which hasn’t been active since April 2018 and he plans on deleting it.
Bombardier declined to comment on the situation in Burlington.
He said the department has had a social media policy in place before Barre City did. He said he would review the policy to see if there are any changes that need to be made and will send it out to his officers, who have already been talking about the Burlington incident, as a reminder.
But he said the department’s officer conduct policy already prohibits officers from harassing or being disrespectful to citizens.
He said an officer could create a fake account and argue with residents in a respectful manner and not be in violation of the department’s policies, but it would still be inappropriate.
“The fictitious account bothers me to begin with. If you’re to engage somebody, engage somebody as who you are,” he said.
Barre Town Police Chief William Dodge said he does not use any fake social media accounts. He said the situation in Burlington was “unfortunate.” Dodge said the incident in Burlington and social media use will be discussed at a staff meeting early next year.
Both Dodge and Bombardier said police do have legitimate reasons for using fake, or undercover accounts on social media. But those accounts are used to gather information in criminal investigations.
Montpelier Police Chief Anthony Facos also denied having any fake social media accounts. He said in an email he also does not have a Twitter account, but social media will be discussed at the department.
“There will no doubt be general conversations occurring around this topic,” Facos wrote. “That said, the MPD has provided guidance and direction to all members of the department by way of department rules and regulations, and an ethics policy, all of which provide a framework of expectations for their conduct. Future policy development and/or modifications maybe forthcoming.”
Berlin Police Chief William Wolfe denied having any fake social media accounts as well. Wolfe said he’s an open book and never felt the need to make a fake account.
He declined to comment on the incident in Burlington, saying he doesn’t have all the facts in the matter.
“I don’t enjoy social media that much. I have a Facebook account and that’s basically it where I communicate with friends and classmates. … I think people spend too much time on social media. I think we should spend more time having a face-to-face conversation with each other,” he said.
Wolfe said he would review the department’s social media policy with his officers at the next staff meeting and does not support using social media accounts for nefarious reasons.
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