Free Press Staff

Dear Reader,

The editors of the Burlington Free Press and I had a difficult decision to make. It was not a decision we made lightly.

Our decision was made in relation to a much harder, in fact excruciating, decision a Burlington police officer had to make in a split second. As a result, a man's life ended.

We have decided to make police body-camera footage available to you that was released by the Burlington Police Department in connection with this outcome.

The information and footage is public information. The body-cam footage was posted on YouTube by the police using unlisted URLs. The links were not issued directly to the public, but were released to the media. This transfers the onus to release or not to release the information and footage onto area media outlets.

Please be strongly warned that this video footage is graphic and disturbing. Please heed the warning expressed below from the police department before deciding whether to view the videos.

Finally, it is the responsibility of the media to provide the public with information. In this case, it is up to you to discern whether the video footage is something you wish to consume and/or whether doing so would further your understanding of the actions preceding the death of Ralph "Phil" Grenon.

Sincerely,

Al Getler

President and Publisher

Burlington Free Press

Daughter seeks reforms after police shooting

Police release videos — WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE

Burlington police on Tuesday evening posted to Youtube 16 body-camera videos from the March 21 encounter with Ralph "Phil" Grenon in his Burlington apartment. Some of the footage contains explicit language and images. This is the statement the police issued:

Below, find several links to the body camera footage itself. Nearly all of the records have been disclosed, except where they were substantially redundant. For example, we have enclosed links to a representative sample of attempts to make contact with Mr. Grenon, though not to include most phone attempts. Negotiators made nearly 20 attempts at contact in all.

These links have been edited to exclude images of Mr. Grenon in especially compromised positions, especially after he is struck by gunfire and officers begin lifesaving measures, to include CPR. We believe these disclosures are protected due to the harm they would cause his family, friends and loved ones, as well as to preserve a modicum of Mr. Grenon’s dignity. Understand: these videos still contain violence, occasional explicit language, and images many people will find hurtful or shocking. We have attempted to disclose as much as possible while honoring these other concerns, and the line is very fine. The Burlington Police Department, the State’s Attorney and the family of the deceased urge discretion and good sense in the propagation of these images. We believe that the need to hold the police accountable of the use of deadly force, which lies at the heart of a democracy, does not immediately translate into the need to widely and directly disseminate all of this footage. Please use good judgment.

Primary body camera footage:

Initial contact at College Street, vantage point one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd8OpX66VFw

Entry into apartment and firearms discharge, vantage point one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mI0gDEZo4g

Entry into apartment and firearms discharge, vantage point two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvpOCKGjtCc

Entry into apartment and firearms discharge, supervisor’s camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyyrQwSUjdo

Firearms discharge, clearest footage : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lei5eRaWvAo (Note: footage immediately preceding this excerpt is blacked out due to the officer holding a ballistic shield. Please refer to other vantage points for footage prior to this time.)

Post-shooting footage, to include images of discharging officer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT2uIjUloeE

Ancillary body camera footage:

Initial contact at College street, vantage point two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVaEz5qa8mA

Insertion of camera into hole drilled above door: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyngiteFRMw

Attempt at contact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVO2_MMKb6I

Attempt at contact two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN8bMmYtPOI

Attempt at contact three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gftq4dqj7MQ

Attempt at contact four: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpkTqkwdue8

Attempt at contact five: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1l4JWHumFw

Sample attempt at contact by phone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnQZ6B32lFw

Entry into apartment, vantage point three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfNXGTyb-VQ

Entry into apartment, vantage point four: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=YLLJWiwL_jg

(Free Press note: This final link provided by the police department appears to be broken.)

Chief's statement

Wednesday, Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo released the following statement about the release of the videos:

To clarify a few things based on inquiries:

The footage here is not searchable on YouTube; it will not come up on Google or on YouTube based on queries and search results. However, any person with the web addresses below can access or embed the videos.

These are public records and the email below was their release and disclosure. The admonition was on behalf of the family and to remind people about the balance between accountability and privacy people strive for in Vermont. There is nothing preventing the widespread release of these public records beyond matters of individual judgment. The police department will not comment on the individual decisions that journalists and public officials make as a result.

YouTube was chosen because it is a no-cost way to simultaneously disclose these public records to a wide range of stakeholders with a legitimate interest in seeing them, doing so on an equal platform where these stakeholders have equal access regardless of their technical abilities or inclinations. There may come a time where the department elects to make them available to the general public directly, and reserves that right, based on the course of public discussion. As a courtesy and acknowledgement of their roles in matters of accountability, the videos were released to journalists and the press below in advance of an more general release.

The links comprise all of the footage of substance, with the exception of some attempts to make contact with Mr. Grenon by phone and in person. The footage has been edited in an attempt to protect the privacy and dignity of the deceased and his family while being as transparent as possible, and to comply with the acknowledged ethical standards of the police profession as regulated by the state of Vermont.

Sincerely,

Chief del Pozo