Brandon del Pozo
Chief of Police, Burlington, Vermont
In office
September 1, 2015 – December 16, 2019
Personal details
Born1974 (age 49–50)
SpouseSarah Carnevale (m. 2002)
Alma materDartmouth College (AB, 1996), Harvard University (MPA, 2004), John Jay College, CUNY (MA, 2007), The Graduate Center, CUNY (MPhil, 2012 & PhD, 2020)
Websitewww.brandondelpozo.com www.policeandthestate.com

Brandon del Pozo, PhD, MPA, MA (born 1974) is an assistant professor of Medicine and Health Services, Policy, and Practice (Research) at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and a research scientist at Rhode Island Hospital.[1] He is also a faculty member of the Master of Science Program in Addiction Policy and Practice at the Georgetown University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.[2]

Prior to research, del Pozo was the chief of police of Burlington, Vermont for four years,[3] and served with the New York City Police Department for nearly two decades, rising to the rank of deputy inspector. While there, he commanded the 6th and 50th Precincts,[4][5] and served overseas as an intelligence officer for the Arab world and India (based in Amman, Jordan). There, he investigated terror attacks to see what lessons they offered for New York City.[4] He has received national recognition for his leadership from the Police Executive Research Forum.[6]

Del Pozo is an elected member of the Council on Criminal Justice,[7] and a Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Academic at the National Institute of Justice.[8]

Early life and education

Born in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of the New York borough of Brooklyn to a Cuban father and Jewish mother,[5] del Pozo graduated from Stuyvesant High School[9] in New York.

Del Pozo completed a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College,[10] earned a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from John Jay College.[11][12] At the Kennedy School, he was a 9/11 Public Service Fellow, in recognition of the sacrifices made by first responders on that day.[11][13]

He holds a PhD in Philosophy and the enroute MPhil from The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York.[14] To expand his research from political philosophy to public health, he trained as a NIDA-funded postdoctoral researcher in drug policy and substance use[1] at the Miriam Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where he went on to receive a faculty appointment.

Research career

Del Pozo has been funded by the National Institutes of Health to investigate how public systems, policies, and law, especially relating to criminal justice, affect the health and safety of individuals and communities.[15] He also conducts research on the normative commitments of government, especially police.

Some of his research that has gained mainstream attention has compared the risks of violence faced by military-aged males in select U.S. cities with the wartime risks of injury and death faced by soldiers deployed to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan,[16][17] evidence that police opioid seizures are spatiotemporally associated with increased overdose rates in their aftermath,[18] a study that found crime and disorder did not increase in the areas where New York City opened the nation's first two government-sanctioned safe injection sites,[19] and efforts to dispel the myth that police officers can quickly overdose and die from touching the synthetic opioid fentanyl.[20][21]

In 2022, Cambridge University Press published del Pozo's book The Police and the State: Security, Social Cooperation, and the Public Good.[22][23] It uses modern political philosophy to offer an account of the role of police in a pluralist democracy, attempting to reconcile the work of Hegel, John Rawls, Elizabeth Anderson, and Charles Mills, the latter of whom sat on his dissertation committee.

Police career

Citing the challenges of policing in the United States,[24] del Pozo came to Burlington with a desire to improve police services in the city as a model for progress in the profession.[25] His appointment was contested by some locals due to his prior work with the New York Police Department (NYPD),[26] but his nomination was unanimously approved by the Burlington City Council.[27]

Opioid addiction and overdose reduction

The mayor of Burlington directed del Pozo to create and implement a strategy[28] for addressing the opioid crisis,[29] using data and collaboration as cornerstones.[30] Shortly after taking leadership of the Burlington Police Department, del Pozo began a wide-ranging initiative.[31] He directed all patrol officers to carry Naloxone,[32] and assisted the mayor's office with the creation of the city's Opioid Policy Coordinator position, as well as staffed his office with analysts with training in epidemiology and biostatistics.[33] Based out of the police department, the two positions vetted police work for better public health outcomes and assisted the city in formulating policies and programs to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with opioid abuse.[34]

Del Pozo's insights into the need for swift action in treating overdose gained national attention.[35] He was vocal about the need for all people suffering from opioid addiction to have prompt access to the medications proven to treat it,[36] including prisoners,[37] and he adopted a policy where his department would not arrest people for unprescribed possession of buprenorphine.[38][39] In early 2020, the city of Philadelphia took the same position towards buprenorphine, citing Burlington's leadership on the issue.[40]

In 2018, as the rest of Vermont saw a 20% increase in opioid overdose deaths, Burlington's county saw a 50% decline, to their lowest levels since 2013, when the state began keeping records.[41] The reduction was sustained through the end of 2019.[42]

De-escalation

In the winter of 2016, after a Burlington police officer killed Phil Grenon, a man who attacked the police with knives at the end of a prolonged standoff,[43] del Pozo began piloting the Police Executive Research Forum's (PERF) new force guidelines and curriculum[44][45] to avert physical confrontations while maintaining officer safety.[46] The Reveal, a show syndicated by American Public Media, produced a segment taking a close look at the incident and its aftermath: "When Tasers Fail."[47]

In 2018, del Pozo gave the highest award in the department to an officer who was in the path of a robbery suspect fleeing in a vehicle and would have been justified in opening fire on the vehicle, but chose not to,[48] saying that restraint was a valuable quality in a police officer.[49] He also investigated the Vermont State Police Academy for allegations that officers were needlessly being struck unexpectedly in the head during training, causing a pattern of concussions.[50] As a result, the academy settled a suit with an injured student and ceased delivering unexpected blows to the heads of its recruits.[51]

Transparency

An advocate for greater transparency in government, del Pozo created a police data transparency portal featuring a quote by legal philosopher Jeremy Waldron: "In a democracy, the accountable agents of the people owe the people an account of what they have been doing, and a refusal to provide this is simple insolence."[52] He has spoken at the Obama White House on the value of the practice as part of efforts to implement the recommendations of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.[53]

Overseas intelligence

Citing intelligence failures that led to the 9/11 terror attacks, the NYPD selected del Pozo to create its first intelligence liaison post with the Arab world, based out of Amman, Jordan in 2005.[54] Embedded with the Jordanian National Police, he responded to suicide bombings at Jordanian hotels executed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and an attack on a Roman amphitheater.[55] He also responded to two attacks in Mumbai, India: a 2006 bombing of seven trains on the city's commuter rail,[56][57] and the 2008 Lashkar-e-Taiba-led attack on downtown Mumbai itself, where a team of gunmen attacked hotels, transportation hubs, tourist areas and a Jewish cultural center. Del Pozo reported his analyses back to the NYPD and other agencies,[58] assessing how these attacks could be replicated by exploiting security vulnerabilities in New York City,[59] and what measures could be taken to prevent them.[60] His role was unique in that there was no other U.S. intelligence officer conducting work on behalf of a municipal police department in either region.[61]

Recognition

In May 2016, the PERF awarded del Pozo its Gary Hayes Memorial Award for his innovation and leadership.[62] He is also an executive fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based National Policing Institute, a "national, independent non-profit organization dedicated to advancing policing through innovation and science."[63]

Resignation

Del Pozo resigned as chief on December 16, 2019, after disclosing that he had used an anonymous Twitter account to tweet at a critic of the city for an hour about the person's criticism of outdoor dining, the city's AmeriCorps program, and the renovation of public parks.[64][65] He told The New York Times that the incident "taught me that nothing good ever comes from letting social media criticism get under your skin."[66]

Bicycle accident

In 2018, while training for his second Lake Placid Ironman 70.3, del Pozo suffered multiple serious injuries in a bicycle accident, including three skull fractures, brain hemorrhaging, a partially collapsed lung, and seven other broken bones.[67] He was transported by emergency airlift to an intensive care unit at the UVM Medical Center.[68][69] After eight weeks of convalescence, he returned to full duty in his role.[70] Citing concussion symptoms, del Pozo took a second medical leave in the summer of 2019.[71][72]

Personal life

Del Pozo married Sarah Carnevale in 2002 and has two sons.[73] He wrote and directed a narrative short film, Sunday 1287,[74] which screened at the Middlebury and Vermont International Film Festivals.[75] The film was based on a crime he investigated while commanding a precinct in the New York borough of the Bronx. An outdoors enthusiast,[76] he has climbed New Hampshire's 48 highest mountains,[77] completed the Lake Placid Half Ironman and other triathlons, and written for publications about cycling and climbing.[78][79]

References

  1. 1 2 Pozo, Brandon del. "Brandon Del Pozo". Brandon del Pozo. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Faculty & Staff". Addiction Policy & Practice. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  3. ↑ Leslie, Alexandra (September 2, 2015). "Brandon del Pozo Sworn In As Burlington's New Police Chief". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Commander's goal is to make Village area 'safe for everyone'". thevillager.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "'Philosopher commander' at 6th". thevillager.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Chief Brandon del Pozo Awarded National Innovation & Leadership Award by Top Progressive Policing Organization | City of Burlington, Vermont". burlingtonvt.gov. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Council on Criminal Justice Member Directory- Brandon del Pozo". September 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Meet the LEADS Scholarship Recipients". National Institute of Justice. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ "WestView Letter June 2012: Beyond the Letter of the Law". June 1, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Climb Every Mountain | Dartmouth Alumni Magazine". dartmouthalumnimagazine.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  11. 1 2 School, Harvard Kennedy. "NYPD Crimson". hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Del Pozo passes top cop torch at the Five-O". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  13. ↑ DaSilva, Staci (September 1, 2015). "BTV Police Chief Reflects On 9/11 Experience As NYPD Officer". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  14. ↑ Pozo, Brandon del. "Brandon del Pozo". Brandon del Pozo. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  15. ↑ "RePORT ⟩ RePORTER". reporter.nih.gov. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  16. ↑ del Pozo, Brandon; Knorre, Alex; Mello, Michael J.; Chalfin, Aaron (December 22, 2022). "Comparing Risks of Firearm-Related Death and Injury Among Young Adult Males in Selected US Cities With Wartime Service in Iraq and Afghanistan". JAMA Network Open. 5 (12): e2248132. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.48132. ISSN 2574-3805. PMC 9856602. PMID 36547982.
  17. ↑ "Violence in some Chicago neighborhoods puts young men at greater risk than U.S. troops faced in Iraq, Afghanistan war zones, study finds". Chicago Sun-Times. February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  18. ↑ Ray, Bradley; Korzeniewski, Steven J.; Mohler, George; Carroll, Jennifer J.; Del Pozo, Brandon; Victor, Grant; Huynh, Philip; Hedden, Bethany J. (2023). "Spatiotemporal Analysis Exploring the Effect of Law Enforcement Drug Market Disruptions on Overdose, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2020–2021". American Journal of Public Health. 113 (750–758): 747–. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2023.307291. PMC 10262257.
  19. ↑ Chalfin, Aaron; del Pozo, Brandon; Mitre-Becerril, David (November 13, 2023). "Overdose Prevention Centers, Crime, and Disorder in New York City". JAMA Network Open. 6 (11): e2342228. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.42228. ISSN 2574-3805. PMC 10644216.
  20. ↑ del Pozo, Brandon; Sightes, Emily; Kang, Sunyou; Goulka, Jeremiah; Ray, Bradley; Beletsky, Leo A. (November 24, 2021). "Can touch this: training to correct police officer beliefs about overdose from incidental contact with fentanyl". Health & Justice. 9 (1): 34. doi:10.1186/s40352-021-00163-5. ISSN 2194-7899. PMC 8612110. PMID 34817717.
  21. ↑ Echeverria, Danielle (April 9, 2022). "Police officers say they're overdosing from fentanyl exposure. What's really going on?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  22. ↑ "The Police and the State". The Police and the State. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  23. ↑ "The Police and the State | Political philosophy". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  24. ↑ Wilson, Michael; Schwirtz, Michael (July 9, 2016). "In Week of Emotional Swings, Police Face a Dual Role: Villain and Victim". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  25. ↑ Freese, Alicia. "Burlington's Top Cop, Brandon del Pozo, Aims to Rewrite Policing". Seven Days. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  26. ↑ Hallenbeck, Terri. "Burlington City Councilors Stand By Their Man: Del Pozo Is New Police Chief". Seven Days. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  27. ↑ Hallenbeck, Terri. "Burlington City Council Backs del Pozo for Police Chief". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  28. ↑ Freese, Alicia. "Del Pozo's Diagnosis: Police Chief Outlines Opiate Strategy". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  29. ↑ Connors, Mitch Wertlieb, Liam (September 15, 2016). "One Year In, Burlington's Police Chief Reflects On Use Of Force And Opiate Addiction". Retrieved September 29, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ↑ Freese, Alicia. "Help Wanted: Two Good People To Assist Burlington in Addressing the Opiate Problem". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  31. ↑ Hyperakt (June 8, 2018). "David and Goliath". Vera. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Burlington Officers to Carry Opiate Overdose Antidote Naloxone" (PDF). Burlington Polic Department (Press release). January 8, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2017.
  33. ↑ del Pozo, Brandon (March 2022). "CommunityStat: A Public Health Intervention to Reduce Opioid Overdose Deaths in Burlington, Vermont, 2017–2020". Contemporary Drug Problems. 49 (1): 3–19. doi:10.1177/00914509211052107. ISSN 0091-4509. PMC 8782438. PMID 35068616.
  34. ↑ "BTV's opioid-policy leader pioneers data-based approach". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Viral Opioid Obituary — And Police Chief's Response — Show Journey Of Addiction, Resilience". WAMU. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  36. ↑ Szalavitz, Maia; Rinkunas, Susan (June 2, 2018). "These Cities Are Finally Making Addiction Meds Easier to Get". Tonic. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Chief: More drug treatment needed in prison". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  38. ↑ Freese, Alicia. "Burlington to Ease Access to Opioid Addiction Medication". Seven Days. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  39. ↑ Szalavitz, Maia (June 2, 2018). "These Cities Are Finally Making Addiction Meds Easier to Get". Vice. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  40. ↑ @DA_LarryKrasner (January 2, 2020). "Grateful to you all for leading the way". Twitter. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  41. ↑ Jickling, Katie. "Opioid Deaths Rise in Vermont but Plummet in Chittenden County". Seven Days. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  42. ↑ del Pozo, Brandon (October 6, 2021). "CommunityStat: A Public Health Intervention to Reduce Opioid Overdose Deaths in Burlington, Vermont, 2017–2020". Contemporary Drug Problems. 49 (1): 3–19. doi:10.1177/00914509211052107. ISSN 0091-4509. PMC 8782438. PMID 35068616.
  43. ↑ "Burlington police post shooting videos online". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  44. ↑ "BPD training teaches peaceful deescalation". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  45. ↑ Aragon, Rachel (September 1, 2016). "BTV Police Undergo De-Escalation Crisis Training". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Burlington Police Department adds two scout robots". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  47. ↑ "When Tasers fail". Reveal. May 1, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  48. ↑ @BrandondelPozo (March 1, 2018). "Last May, Corporal Mike Hemond, gun drawn on a crowded street, faced a robbery suspect bearing down on him in a car. He could've shot, but didn't. The suspect was later arrested. Today, I gave CPL Hemond the Chief's Award for this & other acts of courage. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2017/05/23/chief-body-cam-video-shows-officers-bravery-and-restraint/339361001/ …pic.twitter.com/4zDKEUCDa5". Twitter. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  49. ↑ Murray, Elizabeth. "Chief: Body cam video shows officer's restraint". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Recruits suffer concussions during 'Hitchhiker Scenario' police academy drill". VTDigger. January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  51. ↑ French, Ellie (October 9, 2019). "Police academy settles for $30,000 in 'hitchhiker scenario' suit". VTDigger. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  52. ↑ "BPD Crime Data | City of Burlington, Vermont". burlingtonvt.gov. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  53. ↑ McGilvery, Keith. "Police Chief Del Pozo reflects on trip to Washington D.C." Archived from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  54. ↑ Dickey, Christopher (2009). Securing the City: Inside America's Best Counterterror Force—The NYPD. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 147.
  55. ↑ Butcher, Tim (September 4, 2006). "Terror in the amphitheatre as tourists are shot". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  56. ↑ Comiskey, John (2010). EFFECTIVE STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL POLICE INTELLIGENCE: THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT'S INTELLIGENCE ENTERPRISE. Monterey, CA: The US Naval Postgraduate School. p. 71.
  57. ↑ "Mumbai terror makes NYPD Blue - Times of India". The Times of India.
  58. ↑ "Mumbai Attacks Offer Clues To Security". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  59. ↑ "How Safe Are Hotels and Other Urban Spaces? | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  60. ↑ "Counterterrorism and Intelligence" (PDF). Center for Law and Human Behavior, UT el Paso.
  61. ↑ Dahl, Erik J. (July 3, 2014). "Local approaches to counterterrorism: the New York Police Department model". Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism. 9 (2): 81–97. doi:10.1080/18335330.2014.940815. ISSN 1833-5330. S2CID 154127041.
  62. ↑ "3 Chiefs Receive PERF Awards at Annual Meeting" (PDF). Subject to Debate. Vol. 30, no. 1. May–June 2016. pp. 1–3.
  63. ↑ "Chief Brandon del Pozo | Police Foundation". policefoundation.org. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  64. ↑ Murray, Elizabeth. "Burlington Police Chief del Pozo resigns: Here's how he got to that point". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  65. ↑ Lamdin, Courtney. "Burlington Police Chief Admits He Used an Anonymous Twitter Account to Taunt a Critic". Seven Days. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  66. ↑ Cramer, Maria (February 1, 2020). "Yet Another Vermont Police Chief Quits Over Fake Social Media Accounts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  67. ↑ Johnson, Mark (August 12, 2018). "'I was doing what thousands of athletes have done'". VTDigger. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  68. ↑ Goldstein, Sasha. "Burlington Police Chief del Pozo Hospitalized After Serious Bike Crash in Adirondacks". Seven Days. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  69. ↑ Murray, Will DiGravio and Elizabeth. "Burlington Police Chief del Pozo injured in Adirondack bicycle crash on Ironman route". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  70. ↑ Johnson, Mark (August 1, 2018). "I was doing what thousands of athletes have done". VTDigger. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  71. ↑ Murray, Elizabeth. "Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo on family and medical leave of absence". The Burlington Free Press. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  72. ↑ Hewitt, Elizabeth (August 4, 2019). "Burlington police chief takes leave of absence". VTDigger. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  73. ↑ Ellin, Abby (March 3, 2002). "WEDDINGS: VOWS; Sarah Carnevale and Brandon del Pozo". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  74. ↑ Sunday 1287, retrieved July 13, 2017
  75. ↑ Isaacs, Abby (October 2, 2016). "Burlington Police Chief directs film to play in Vermont International Film Festival". WPTZ. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  76. ↑ "Burlington's New Police Chief is a Badass". RootsRated. May 1, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  77. ↑ Brandon del Pozo '96 | Jan – Feb 2016. "Climb Every Mountain". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved February 22, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  78. ↑ "Adirondack Life Blog Archive Cycle Adirondacks – Adirondack Life". adirondacklifemag.com. May 23, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  79. ↑ "Adirondack Life Article – The Ice Man – Adirondack Life". adirondacklifemag.com. April 6, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
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