FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2022
Contact: Jordan Redell
jredell@burlingtonvt.gov
Mayor Weinberger Appoints Jon Murad as Police Chief
Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger announced today the appointment of Jon Murad as Police Chief. Chief Murad has served as Deputy Chief at the Burlington Police Department since October 2018 and has served as Acting Chief since the summer of 2020. Previous to joining the Burlington Police Department, Chief Murad served in the New York Police Department as an officer, Detective, Sergeant, and Assistant Commissioner.
“Burlington’s next Police Chief will need to turn around troubling local crime trends, work to eliminate racial bias and racial disparities from policing and law enforcement, and stabilize and rebuild our department,” said Mayor Weinberger. “I know that Chief Murad is up to this enormous challenge because he has already demonstrated he can do it. He has served the Department with distinction and for the last year and a half, has led the Burlington Police Department as Acting Chief through one of the most challenging periods in its 150-year history. At a time when so many are stepping away from the challenges of policing and the contentiousness of the current public arena, Chief Murad is stepping up.”
“I am honored by the Mayor’s confidence, grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve Burlington, excited to enter a new chapter with the Council, the Police Commission, and community stakeholders, and eager to work with the women and men of the police department to keep moving forward for the Queen City and our neighbors. Ours is a wonderful city, where my wife and children have made our home, where my parents spent their careers, where I’ve been privileged to lead the BPD for the past twenty months. I know I have more to give to this wonderful city, and strive to make it safe and fair, everywhere for everyone.”
Background
Chief Murad was born in Burlington and raised Underhill and earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard. Following graduation, he worked as an actor and writer in Los Angeles and as an editorial assistant at Newsweek Magazine. He was drawn to law enforcement following the 9/11 attacks to serve his community through public safety.
Chief Murad began his career in the NYPD in 2005 as a police officer in Bronx, performing patrol, quality-of-life enforcement, and community-policing initiatives, and acting as a training officer. He then served as a detective in the Office of Management Analysis and Planning, and later obtained a master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School. He was promoted to sergeant and served in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood. In 2014 he was promoted to Assistant Commissioner and oversaw efforts to build trust between the NYPD and the public, leading a 49-person department responsible for communications. Chief Murad then served as Chief of Staff to Bill Bratton at Teneo Risk for two years before returning to public safety to join the Burlington Police Department as Deputy Chief.
Chief Murad’s accomplishments during his time at the Burlington Police Department include:
- Led the Department through a staffing crisis, including developing and implementing the Public Safety Continuity Plan to augment unarmed, non-sworn roles in the department while retaining current officers and recruiting new officers.
- Created the role of “Community Support Liaison” as part of the Public Safety Continuity plan, and oversaw the development of the Crisis, Advocacy, Intervention Programs team which coordinates social-service approaches to public safety.
- Developed and implemented the Priority Response Plan in order to manage calls for service and maintain police response to high-priority life-safety calls when staffing is low.
- Improved transparency for the Department through use-of-force reporting, increasing the number of directives available online, making data available in monthly chief’s reports to the independent Police Commission, and significantly expanding the BPD’s “Transparency & Data” webpage.
- Worked with the Committee to Review Policing Practices and then the Police Commission to draft a cutting edge use-of-force policy that ultimately served as the template for a statewide policy adopted by the legislature.
Chief Murad and his family live in the New North End of Burlington.
Search Process and Next Steps
The search process for the Police Chief began in May 2021 with a public engagement process and survey. That community feedback was used to develop an ideal candidate profile that was included in the position posting. The profile indicated priorities and qualities that the community sought for the next Police Chief, including:
- Commitment to promoting public safety and providing it through fair, accountable, and effective policing;
- Ability to create a culture of transparency, accountability, and respect within the Department by being fair, equitable, and a good listener to diverse community voices;
- Commitment to officer wellness and safety;
- Desire to recruit personnel who understand and appreciate police transformation, the history of institutional racism, and community participation in public safety;
- Deep understanding of the history of racism in the United States within policing and public safety and desire to overcome the historical injustices of our institutions;
- Demonstrated history of collaborative, empathetic, and innovative strategic planning, revolutionary thinking, de-escalation tactics, and problem solving skills through community policing;
- Commitment to become an active and collaborative participant in all parts of the Burlington community and developing collaborative and respectful relationships across the community; and
- Understanding of the relationship between public safety and public health.
The City posted the Police Chief position on several national job boards and actively recruited candidates. In December, the committee had identified two viable candidates in the pool, including Jon Murad. In January, the other candidate withdrew from consideration.
Mayor Weinberger intends to seek the Council’s confirmation of Chief Murad’s appointment on January 31.
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