BURLINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) — The Burlington, Vt., police chief has resigned for lying about creating a fake Twitter account to attack a critic.
Chief Brandon Del Pozo admitted he created the account WinkleWatchers to anonymously attack local activist, Charles Winkleman, who is a frequent critic of the police department and Del Pozo.
Del Pozo told reporters he realized within minutes of the Tweets that it was wrong and deleted them. He also admitted he lied to a reporter who asked him about the account last week.
“It’s 45 minutes of my life anonymously tweeting someone in a snarky way that doesn’t benefit a chief of police,” he said. “I can still feel my throat choking up when you ask me that question and just saying “My God, this is a problem.'”
Del Pozo said he’s now seeking mental health treatment. He also suffered a brain injury last year after a bicycle crash.
The Burlington mayor defended the lack of transparency around Del Pozo’s actions and said he deserves the same privacy as anyone else dealing with a health issue.
