On Wednesday night, the Hopkinton Select Board met in Executive Session at the end of the regular meeting to discuss the employment status of Police Chief Joseph Bennett.
>> RELATED: Select Board takes No Action on Chief
I did not expect any action to come out of that meeting, because the Select Board the week before committed to giving Chief Bennett until March 12 to respond to Chair Muriel Kramer’s concerns about his performance.
That’s fair and as it should be.
However, earlier in the public forum, amidst the withering criticism that has been directed at the Select Board and the Chief ever since the January 19 Loudermill Hearing, former HPD officer Pat O’Brien spoke in support of not taking any action at this time against Chief Bennett.
His rationale for not taking any action was two-fold:
First, O’Brien said that Chief Bennett likely wasn’t the only member of Town government who was involved in releasing the personal identifying information (PII) of the survivor who came forward to allege that retired Deputy Chief John Porter raped her when she was a student.
That is a salient point, even though when the information with the survivor’s (and her children’s) PII was published to the HPD website and distributed to the media, the press release specifically stated:
“Chief Bennett has released these documents following multiple public records request (sic) and amid significant public interest, inquiry and media reporting on the matter.”
There are questions that have yet to be addressed by anyone in Town government regarding who was involved in the review process prior to the release. The only thing we know for sure is that the press release states unequivocally that Chief Bennett authorized the release.
To Mr. O’Brien’s point, it remains to be publicly announced whether Town Manager Norman Khumalo, legal counsel Bryan Bertram, the Town’s public relations firm, JGPR, members of the Select Board, or any other Town officials were also involved in the release prior to publication.
If they were, they should also face punishment in the form of suspension, termination of contracts with the Town, or – in the case of the board members – removal from the board. Whoever was involved in the release of the survivor and her children’s PII will ultimately be at risk of civil action as well, and deservedly so. The Town – meaning us taxpayers – will be liable for any future damages or settlements when (not if) civil actions are filed. We can expect those amounts to be in the seven figures.
I believe Mr. O’Brien’s point is accurate. It’s hard to believe Chief Bennett was the only Town official or subcontractor involved with releasing this information prior to Sgt. Brennan’s Loudermill Hearing. This was obviously an orchestrated effort to try to tip public opinion in Town officials’ favor, knowing full well that they planned to fire Sgt. Brennan regardless of what came to light later that night in the Loudermill hearing.
Second, Mr. O’Brien urged the Select Board not to take action on Chief Bennett because of the upcoming 100th anniversary celebration of the Boston Marathon starting in Hopkinton, a federally classified SEAR event that is less than six weeks away. Mr. O’Brien believes that the safety of everyone at the Marathon will be jeopardized if Chief Bennett is not involved in leading the Town’s security and management of the event. He called the Chief’s experience “invaluable.”
However, we must ask: how did the Town get in this mess in the first place?
Based on Chief Bennett’s recent performance review, HE is the reason for the dangerous security void for this momentous, international event.
During the review a little more than a week ago, Select Board Chair Muriel Kramer took Chief Bennett to task for failing to fill key leadership positions in his department.
>> RELATED: Kramer calls for Independent Investigation of Police Chief
If the Chief had filled these positions in a timely manner, the Town would not be in the mess it’s in. Instead, the deputy chief and lieutenants’ positions remain open.
Chief Bennett was also criticized by Ms. Kramer for not developing a succession plan, despite repeated requests from the Select Board for him to do so. It’s no wonder his sergeants have no confidence in his ability to lead the Department.
As a former member of the military, I truly appreciate Mr. O’Brien’s support for the person at the top of the chain of command of the Hopkinton Police Department. It’s admirable, although in this case, I believe misguided.
As a Hopkinton resident, I find it hard to muster any sympathy whatsoever for the predicament that Chief Bennett himself created. I also doubt that suspending Chief Bennett, or even dismissing him, prior to the Marathon will have the devastating impact on Marathon security that Mr. O’Brien envisions.
I agree with Mr. O’Brien that the timing can’t be worse. But Chief Bennett got the Town in this mess – through horrible leadership and the dismal execution of basic management fundamentals – long before the night of the Loudermill Hearing, and long before the Marathon. It is his responsibility alone.
For those reasons, the Select Board has no option but to suspend Chief Bennett at next week’s meeting.
Timothy Boivin is a Hopkinton resident.
While I appreciate the importance of security at the Marathon, one of the lines above stood out to me: “If the Chief had filled these positions in a timely manner, the Town would not be in the mess it’s in. Instead, the deputy chief and lieutenants’ positions remain open.” So true.
With regard to the first point that Mr. O’Brien made – that other people are likely involved in the release of the victim’s personal information and that they also bear responsibility – I personally don’t think that should cause a delay to the Select Board taking action. Action has to start somewhere and given that an investigation has been launched by the DA (or is about to) into Chief Bennett’s role in this, seems like suspending the chief is THE place to start.
Mr. Bovin, With all due respect; Tim Brennan and Jay Porter got us into this mess, not the Chief of Police
Anonymous, With all due respect; Chief Bennett and Jay Porter got us into this mess.