Red Scare: Former Police Chief del Pozo Claims Burlington's 'Socialists' Did Him In

Oh, please. Not that tired old trope.

Former Burlington police chief Brandon del Pozo is shifting responsibility for the social media scandal that cost him his job in Burlington in late 2019. Now he's blaming "the Socialists" on the city council for his downfall. He also maintains that he resigned only after Mayor Miro Weinberger refused to defend him from opponents who had "their knives out."

That's different from the two men's earlier claim that del Pozo's behavior — trolling a critic on Twitter with a fake account — was the consequence of a serious concussion he suffered in a 2018 bike crash.

Del Pozo was testifying recently to New Hampshire legislators about a bill on limited immunity for police officers when a Granite State lawmaker asked about his departure from Burlington. Del Pozo said his tenure had been going well until "the Socialists" took control of the city council and sought to overhaul his police department. Del Pozo started by noting that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) lives in "very left-leaning" Burlington.

"Even as a very progressive police officer, I was seen by many people on the far left as some sort of right-leaning — I was a cop; I could do no right," he said. Before he was hired as chief in 2015, del Pozo was a New York City police officer for 19 years.

Read more: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/red-scare-former-police-chief-del-pozo-claims-burlingtons-socialists-did-him-in/Content?oid=33160509