Burlington police chief pick draws scrutiny over discrimination claims
Accusations of gender discrimination in past jobs, complaints about a murky selection process and concerns about timing so close to elections shadowed City Council's appointment of Anthony Geraci as Burlington's next police chief . Councilors approved Geraci, who led departments in New York, in a 10-2 vote Nov. 9, but not before a range of objections from Democrats. Ward 6 Councilor Becca Brown McKnight raised concerns of “institutional sexism,” saying workplace allegations of gender discrimination against Geraci had not been thoroughly investigated by the mayor or hiring committee. "About a year and a half ago, I confirmed somebody onto a city committee who turned out to have a troubling background in terms of how he treated women," said McKnight, a Democrat. "Instead, I chose to go along with the flow, to move things along and to be polite. And at that time, I didn't do enough to dig deeper and ask the right questions. And that was the wrong choice, and I own that, and now I'm trying to do better." Our picks for you, every Sunday: Sign up for Free Press Selects for a pick of good pieces, plus insights into how we do our work. Free every week.
