A senior police official in Burlington who used several fake social media accounts will step down from her post later this month.
from the Burlington Police Department Monday evening, city government reached an agreement with Deputy Chief Jan Wright in which she鈥檒l resign from the department effective Feb. 21.
, Mayor Miro Weinberger said Wright鈥檚 action鈥檚 鈥渄amaged City relationships and eroded the public鈥檚 and my trust in her judgment beyond repair.鈥�
More from VPR:[Jan. 29]
鈥淛an Wright completed nearly two decades of exemplary service for Burlington, and she has agreed to my request that her service to the City end at this time, for the benefit of the Department and of the City,鈥� Weinberger said.
Wright will be on restricted duty until she resigns and will receive 22 weeks of severance pay after leaving the department. Wright made $105,960.44 in fiscal year 2018, according the
Late last month, the department Wright for eight days without pay after an internal investigation found Wright used her two fake accounts to make 10 posts that were "derogatory or personally attacking in nature."
But the city鈥檚 internal investigation did not review all the material posted on Wright鈥檚 anonymous accounts. Subsequent reporting by VTDigger made by Wright, including one where Wright complained about the racial makeup of the Burlington Police Commission.
鈥淭he commission is now 6/7th black. Is this representative of the Burlington community?鈥� Wright wrote in June, using the pseudonym 鈥淎bby Skyes.鈥�
Then, Seven Days revealed Wright had a 鈥� a Twitter handle under the name "honeybadger159" 鈥� that city officials knew about, but didn鈥檛 include in the report because they said it wasn鈥檛 used to attack others.
More from VPR: [Jan. 8]
The Burlington Police Officer鈥檚 Association, the union representing Burlington Police officers, said its members support Wright鈥檚 decision to step down.
鈥淒eputy Chief Wright鈥檚 actions exhibited a lack of [judgment], did not set a positive example for those [officers] she was tasked with leading, and were detrimental to the morale of BPOA members,鈥� the union .
Wright was briefly named interim police chief late last year, after former chief Brandon del Pozo following his admission that he used fake social media accounts to taunt a critic online. Wright was from that post after admitting that she also had an anonymous social media account.
