GREENFIELD — Over the past three weeks, the sheriff’s department has been training correctional officer recruits at the high school every weekday, but things have changed a bit after complaints forced all involved to reconsider how it’s being conducted.
In the first week, especially the first few days, the exercises were louder than they are now, Sheriff Christopher Donelan said.
“We need to instill discipline, respect,” he said. “That’s desperately needed in this job.”
But a neighbor whose property abuts the high school disagrees, especially now in the light of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, when people across the nation are asking for the defunding and reform of police departments. Additionally, neighbors were never informed about the training before it began.
That neighbor complained to Donelan, city officials, including Mayor Roxann Wedegartner and city councilors, Superintendent Jordana Harper and police, to say she disapproved of the “military-type training” being done on school property in a residential neighborhood. Soon, several other Greenfield residents and city councilors followed with letters and emails of support.
Precinct 5 City Councilor Tim Dolan said he doesn’t think that kind of training is productive.
“I’d like to see this type of training eliminated statewide,” Dolan said. “It was designed in 1988, and working in higher education, I’ve seen that a lot has changed since then. The entire training process should be demilitarized. Police and correctional officers should not be trained as soldiers.”
Additionally, he said the city should not have that type of training on city-owned property in residential areas, and that it is the responsibility of Wedegartner, Harper and the School Committee to make sure that ends.
“I understand the desire to be good neighbors and a team player, but this can be quite disturbing to those who live where it’s happening,” he said. “What is the pedagogical value of this type of training? We obviously have significant philosophical differences.”
Dolan said it should be recognized that in light of what’s happening across the country, people should be more sensitive regarding how actions affect others.
“How are these people trained? Are these the values we want to instill in new recruits working civilian jobs?” he asked.
Other residents in the neighborhood have not formally complained, but one, speaking with the Greenfield Recorder, said that the first time she witnessed the training she thought it was the National Guard because it was “so militarized.”
“I understand some action has already been taken,” Precinct 7 City Councilor Otis Wheeler said. “They’ve moved some of the drills inside, allowing more use of the classrooms and gym, but I think there has to be continuing conversation.”
Wheeler said the needs of anyone using the property must be balanced with those of the neighbors.
“Decisions would ultimately fall to the superintendent and the School Committee,” he said. “Maybe some policies need to be rewritten.”
Donelan said he chose the school because of the space it allowed for training. Typically, it is done at the jail on Elm Street, but this year, the outdoor space is being used as a COVID-19 unit, just in case.
“I think there were some misunderstandings in what was happening at the school in those early days,” said Donelan, who served as state representative for the 2nd Franklin District from 2003 to 2011 and was elected sheriff in 2010. He is also co-chair of the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region, formed in 2013.
Superintendent Harper said in an email that she has spoken with Donelan about the concerns and talked with School Committee Chair Amy Proietti and Wedegartner, as well as the Greenfield School Department’s lawyer.
“The sheriff assured me of his commitment to being responsive to the needs of the neighboring community,” Harper said in the email. “We want to promote strong working relationships with town and state agencies within the community wherever possible. School Committee policies allow for appropriate public access to public buildings, particularly when school is not in session due to COVID-19. At this time, there is no direct information that the training, which is not in any way affiliated with the schools, has violated any School Committee policy or state law.”
Harper said the request came to the schools through the city’s Emergency Operations Center due to the space constraints resulting from COVID-19.
“In light of community concerns, it is fully appropriate to review whether there are other locations available for future trainings,” she said.
Wedegartner said she did not learn about the training or the concerns about it until she received an email about a week into it.
“I wasn’t aware it was happening,” she said. “The use of school buildings and property is the responsibility of the school superintendent. It doesn’t normally come to the mayor unless there is a problem.”
When Wedegartner and Police Chief Robert Haigh heard the complaints, they started looking into it, she said.
Harper and Donelan have agreed that as little training as possible will be done outside for the remaining three weeks. Recruits train from 7 to 9 a.m. outdoors, running the track and doing calisthenics, along with agility and other drills. Orders from drill sergeants have also been “toned down.”
The sheriff said recruits arrive each day and temperatures are taken at 7 a.m. to screen for COVID-19. Then, they line up and receive instructions. The very first day of training, recruits brought bags filled with supplies and were asked one-by-one to show them to the drill sergeants. As recruits raised each supply, Donelan said he believes it was mistaken for a salute from a distance.
Dolan questions the purpose of the drill, saying that he doesn’t see what it instills in recruits. A person of Jewish descent, like the neighbor who complained, might view the activity and yelling as something more malicious, he said.
There are more than a half-dozen women in the group of 23 recruits for both the Hampshire and Franklin County jails — they are training together with male recruits, as always — and Donelan believes when a neighbor heard “OK ladies,” it was misinterpreted as homophobic. He said he believes the women were being addressed at the time.
“No, that’s homophobic,” Dolan said.
“The purpose of the training is to build strength and discipline,” Donelan said. “This is a very difficult job and what neighbors don’t see is that the outdoor training is a small piece of it. Recruits are in the classroom most of the day listening to guest speakers, like Dr. Ruth Potee, who are teaching them about addiction, keeping prisoners safe, LGBTQ issues and protecting prisoners from becoming victims of sexual assault. A major focus is de-escalation.”
When training ends, recruits are pinned and immediately begin in their positions as correctional officers. A dozen will go to the local jail, while other officers have left to join police departments.
Greenfield High School Athletic Director Mike Kuchieski said he has been at the school every day of training and does not believe the noise was any louder, except maybe briefly at times, than some of the school’s athletic teams get when they practice outside.
“We welcomed them here,” Kuchieski said. “The jail has done so much for the school system, saving us thousands of dollars in labor costs on projects. It’s the least we could do.”
Kuchieski, who was previously a corrections officer at the jail, said he has not received any complaints from the people who come to the school each morning to walk or run the track while the drills are happening.
“There’s always people out here, with or without dogs, and some of them have said they have ‘nothing but praise and respect’ for what’s happening,” Kuchieski said. “The job these recruits will be doing takes discipline and mental toughness. They need this training.”
Donelan said trainers are from the two jails, including one correctional officer who coaches football and wrestling at Franklin County Technical School.
“Military training is not the focus,” Donelan said. “It’s team building. We have 40 hours of in-service training every year so that correctional officers stay informed of any changes.”
The youngest recruit this year is 20 and the oldest is 46. There is no age requirement, but there is a physical and mental fitness and stamina requirement.
“We’ve responded to the concerns neighbors have, because we want to be good neighbors,” Donelan said. “We hope to return the training to the jail next time.”
Wedegartner, who is also a School Committee member, said she expects the committee will discuss these types of trainings in the future.
“I understand neighbors’ concerns about how things are conducted on school property,” Wedegartner said. “We now have to decide how we want school property to be used.”
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.