GREENFIELD — Police Chief Robert Haigh said he plans to be the point of contact for any communication between his department and the town’s Human Rights Commission while the two entities work on developing a more stable relationship, but he does not intend to remove or replace the current police liaison to the commission.
“I feel at this time, the relationship we want to grow and nurture would start best with me right now” Haigh said, adding, “It doesn’t mean I’ve removed anybody or eliminated that position.”
The Confederate flag controversy involving the current police liaison was revisited during Monday night’s commission meeting, with some commissioners and members of the public voicing concern about Detective Sgt. Daniel McCarthy continuing to serve as liaison. McCarthy came under scrutiny late last year for allegedly hanging a Confederate flag in his garage, which could be seen from the street when the door was open.
After speaking with Commission Chairman Philippe Simon over the phone Tuesday, Haigh said he will be the police department’s contact for the time being, but that he does not intend to replace McCarthy.
“All I’m doing at this time is being the face of the department until such time I feel comfortable with us and the entire Human Rights Commission,” Haigh said. “We want to have a good relationship with them.”
The commission formally recommended to Mayor William Martin, Town Council and Public Safety Commission earlier this year that Haigh — who appoints the liaison — replace McCarthy, but Haigh told The Recorder he had no intention of doing so at that time.
“We’re looking at this as a resolution of that issue completely,” Simon said. “(The Police Department) has given their statement, the officer in question ended up being at a lot of community meetings and was there to hear people’s reactions, and I think beyond that that’s all we can do and should do at this point.”
During Monday night’s meeting, former commission Chairman Lewis Metaxas cautioned that failing to make a definitive statement about the controversy could call the commission’s credibility into question. However, commission member Loreen Flockerzie said it’s important to refrain from jumping to conclusions about McCarthy’s responsibility for the flag, as he never clarified whether he was the one who actually hung it and has remained largely silent on the issue.
There has been some question as to whether the liaison position would change if a Hate Crime Ordinance proposed by Town Council Treasurer Karen “Rudy” Renaud is passed by the full council. The proposed ordinance outlines a new civil rights officer position, who would be tasked with reporting hate crimes to the commission and attending meetings to keep the public updated.
Simon said he hopes the two positions would be combined if the ordinance passes, because they’re so similar.
“I think that would be a really key combination,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense that there’s two different people involved in that.”
However, Haigh said the two roles are distinct and should be kept separate.
“It’s two totally different positions. Could the same person end up being both? Maybe,” he said.
Haigh said officers are appointed to specialty positions — such as a civil rights officer position — by the chief, and said he would like to seek out officers who are interested in civil rights issues and move forward with the selection process from there.
“I think it should be somebody that has a passion for wanting to do it as opposed to me just naming somebody,” he said.
The commission also hopes to write a series of articles that might be offered for use in The Recorder about the history of people of color in Franklin County, with the help of resident Bob Cooley. Simon said an upcoming article about the Confederate flag will be written with a focus on how that symbol was used by groups not only to disenfranchise African Americans in the South, but also to disenfranchise working class and agrarian whites.
Cooley revealed Monday that a grant has also made it possible for commissioners to participate in a voluntary communication and conflict resolution training being offered for free by the Mediation and Training Collaborative, a program of Community Action. That training will be held before Sept. 20.
The commission plans to focus on issues of poverty in Franklin County during upcoming meetings.
You can reach Aviva Luttrell at:
aluttrell@recorder.com or:
413-772-0261, ext. 268
On Twitter: @AvivaLuttrell