MY POLICE-RELATED COMMENT FOR WATERTOWN NEWS WAS "TOO PERSONAL" SO I HAD TO RUN IT HERE INSTEAD

Here's an article recently published on Watertown News:

City Planning to Appeal Decision in Sexual Discrimination Case Involving the Police Department

Here's the comment from the commenter:

"And now we will be hiring a new chief from within the department. That person was either complicit and allowed the discrimination and harassment to continue, or participated in it. Or, that man (the only choices are men) was completely oblivious, in a job that requires being observant. And we wonder why people don’t trust the police."

 

Here's my response (which is kind of personal) to that commenter:

People don’t trust the police? Are you referring to the people, within your social circle, who share your belief, or are you speaking for the entire Watertown community? If it’s the latter, you have it wrong.

It's interesting how certain police critics demand transparency for everyone except themselves. As part of the leadership of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment, you might have led with that disclosure.

Now that you’ve pronounced the next chief as having been “either complicit, or a participant” or “completely oblivious,” I guess we should all assume that this will be an open and shut case of his worthiness to lead the WPD.

Maybe he was highly observant of drug dealers, sex traffickers, and violent criminals who operate in cities and towns surrounding Watertown and maybe he paid too little attention to what he may have regarded, rightly or wrongly, as office gossip.

The city manager will surely be asking the candidates for the job: What did you know and when did you know it? He will also be asking: Are you the man who can best keep us safe?

In my opinion, the greater community understands that the freedom to walk down our streets at night, without fear, is not an accident, nor is it a reality in every city and town. 

Bruce Coltin, The Battle For Watertown