GREENFIELD — Conversations on the future of policing in Greenfield continued this week, with a focus at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting on the Greenfield Police Department’s use of its Facebook pages in the wake of departmental budget cuts.
“Actions have consequences,” said Precinct 3 Councilor Virginia “Ginny” DeSorgher, referring to posts on the Greenfield Police Department Facebook page, which outlined the cuts and the impact they may have on the department. “Is this raising awareness of an issue? Does it raise awareness there were budget cuts? Yes, it does. But there are words you use.”
According to City Council President Sheila Gilmour, councilors received dozens of “harassing phone calls” as a result of the information provided in the posts.
“I was getting a lot of phone calls and a lot of complaints from councilors,” Gilmour said. “I had one (councilor) who felt like they were unsafe, because someone was yelling and screaming at them on the phone.”
The cuts that city councilors made to the Police Department’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget during a May 19 meeting include $400,000 for salaries, bringing the salary line down to $3.1 million, and $25,000 in expenses, bringing the expense line to $275,000.
The budgetary decisions came just two weeks after a jury found the Greenfield Police Department and Police Chief Robert Haigh Jr. racially discriminated against former Officer Patrick Buchanan in 2014, the department’s only Black officer at that point, when he was denied a promotion. Haigh remains on paid administrative leave.
“The minute this vote was going on … I knew what the reaction was going to be the next day,” said At-Large Councilor Penny Ricketts. “People are going to be upset; how did nobody see that coming?”
Ricketts said she wasn’t bothered by the posts on the Police Department’s page in the days following the City Council meeting in May.
“I don’t know what kind of department could get hit that hard and not react that way,” she said.
Precinct 5 Councilor Marianne Bullock said her primary concern with the posts were that they failed to promote public safety and instead were “fanning the flames.”
“If our superintendent got on social media and said we didn’t get a special education teacher, so we’re going to stop teaching special education in our schools … it wouldn’t be acceptable,” Bullock said. “If the (Department of Public Works) said we’re not filling potholes anymore because we didn’t get our $30,000 to fill the parking lots, it would be unacceptable.”
The mayor’s Chief of Staff Dani Letourneau explained to councilors that although there isn’t a review process each department goes through before a post can be shared on social media, those posts don’t go “unchecked.”
“Those conversations happen internally,” she said.
The discussion among councilors came on the heels of more than two hours of public discussion, during which residents condemned the “inaction” of city officials in the aftermath of the racial discrimination verdict, and several more spoke out against the cuts and — for the first time publicly — spoke in defense of Haigh.
“I understand you all wanted to make … a statement,” Greenfield Police Sgt. Jason Haskins told councilors. “We get that, but the evidence doesn’t suggest what you’re doing is right.”
Because of union obligations, acting Police Chief William Gordon has explained that any money cut from the salaries and wages line item in the budget would result in the layoffs of the most recently hired officers.
Haskins argued that cuts to police departments lead to problems in cities and towns.
“(Research) suggests police should be building relationships with their communities,” Haskins said. “We’re not doing that now.”
He said while social policies help to reduce crime, “you will always need police in your community if you want to be safe.”
“I understand where you’re coming from,” Haskins said. “But you guys are responsible for doing what’s right for the majority, for the citizens. This is a bad budget decision … and it’s not safe.”
Resident Tim Farrell, who serves on several local committees and is a co-owner of Gilmore and Farrell Insurance Agency, referred to the cuts as a “knee-jerk reaction.” With respect to the potential for the jury verdict to be appealed, he pleaded with councilors to be mindful of what they say online and to the news media.
“Don’t give an insurance company a reason to walk away, because they will walk away,” he said. “They would say the city doesn’t support having this appeal. That would cost the city millions, and nobody is going to pay for that.”
A handful of people in attendance, including former City Council President Ashli Stempel-Rae, spoke on behalf of Haigh’s character.
“When I think of his character, collaboration, open mindedness, willingness and desire to learn and understand do come to mind,” Stempel-Rae said. “I witnessed … his fight to get dollars and grants for training in order to grow our department’s inclusivity and social awareness.”
Keyedrya Jacobs of Turners Falls also spoke in defense of Haigh.
“At the time I started my career, I was just one of very few Black people in an area working in a predominantly white institution, experiencing micro-aggressions and racism on daily basis,” Jacobs said. “When I approached Chief Haigh to host a public forum to talk about how to combat police brutality, he was 100% on board.”
Jacobs, who serves as community engagement and programs associate with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) and the Communities That Care Coalition, said she has always reached out to Haigh for support.
“As a Black woman and the mother of four sons and three Black brothers in this community, I have grown confident in the leadership of Chief Haigh,” she said. “In no way is he perfect, but his dedication to learn the things he does not know and make the changes necessary to the system he leads has been inspiring.”
Others, however, still felt strongly that accountability in the Police Department was lacking.
“A lot of people in this town want accountability,” said resident Jon Magee. “These are people who read the court documents and all the misconduct. They were flummoxed when the mayor’s first comment on the lawsuit was that Haigh would be completely exonerated. They noticed that Greenfield Police Department has not made one peep about known wrongdoing, not even an apology.”
Some residents commended City Council’s controversial decision to cut the Police Department budget.
Resident Andrew Ritchey said there are officers in the city who have never been held accountable for police misconduct, “and they wont be held accountable unless you keep making difficult decisions, like cutting the budget to get everyone’s attention.”
Wendy Goodman said she understands that the council’s decision to cut the budget may have been its “only tool” to “shine the light on and take action on a longstanding problem in our Police Department.”
“The question is not whether there is racism in our Police Department, in our community,” she said. “It’s about investigating our police force. To me, it’s about reviewing … how we achieve public safety, and how we distribute the funds to do so.”
Last month, Mayor Roxann Wedegartner announced the city plans to launch an independent audit into the Police Department’s structure, policies and practices. The City Council had a first reading Wednesday night on the request to appropriate $175,000 for the audit.
Precinct 7 Councilor Jasper Lapienski proposed a resolution declaring both Haigh and Wedegartner had lost the confidence of the residents of Greenfield. However, the resolution failed to receive a second; therefore, it did not go to a vote.
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.