Just over a
year ago, a rookie city manager took office and was handed an assignment that
might turn out to be one of the most important decisions he will ever make
while occupying his current position.
Actually,
the word “handed” is a gross understatement. It’s more like he was tossed a
450-degree hot potato that would remain at that temperature until he completed
that assignment.
I am
speaking, of course, about the hiring of the new police chief. Of all the
issues Manager Proakis would be facing, none would carry the level of scrutiny
or the emotional baggage of this one.
It may seem
like a decade ago, but it was actually the spring of 2021 when the Town
Council’s Committee on Public Safety was turned into a political war zone by a
handful of citizens calling themselves the Joint Police Reform Group.
Riding the national
wave generated by the tragic killing of George Floyd by a sadistic Minneapolis
police officer, this adrenaline-fueled group presented a list of demands to the
committee, which included slashing the police department’s budget.
According to
this joint group, there was no doubt that the WPD was contaminated with racism
and they were the citizens blessed with the knowledge, training, and sensitivity
needed to find and fix that racism once their demands were granted by the full town
council.
Just for
context, here are a few of the constant themes presented in their multiple (and
very contentious) presentations:
Watertown’s
public safety requires that there be fewer cops and more social workers.
Watertown
police officers need to undergo specific anti-bias training (regardless of the
anti-bias training they are already receiving).
There are
victims of racist police behavior, by Watertown cops, who must remain hidden
from public view out of fear of retribution – presumably by Watertown cops.
The reform
group managed to get two Boston media outlets to run stories reflecting their
allegations of racism within the WPD.
There is so
much more context to provide, but I think you get the point and if you
witnessed these events, your blood may have just started boiling as a result of
this reminder.
Now back to
the man holding the flesh-burning potato.
Manager
Proakis had an option. To find our next police chief, he could have opted to go
outside of the civil service system where he might have found 50 or even 100
candidates interested in applying for the job.
It would
have been a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, but by taking this
route, the new manager might have quieted the police reformers who have
undoubtedly been showing up at his office and lobbying him since his first day
on the job.
With 50 or
100 applicants to choose from, he’d have an excellent chance of coming up with a
Black, Hispanic, or at least a female candidate, with impeccable antiracist credentials.
This would have silenced the reformers and would have been automatically
endorsed by the one councilor who is always in favor of placing diversity over
qualifications when hiring for any position.
But what
message would have been sent to the significant portion of Watertown residents who
consider their police department to be an integral part of the Watertown
community and who deeply resented the accusations directed at the department where
many of the officers and their families were lifelong friends and neighbors?
And how
might this choice have affected the morale of the police officers who do their
jobs night and day, while silently enduring the accusations delivered by some
of the very people they are charged with keeping safe from dangerous criminals?
The man
holding the potato had a dilemma. He also had a challenge – a very big
challenge. In a small police department of only 70-something officers, there
were only a few possible candidates with the leadership experience and qualifications
to be chief.
And then,
along the way, one of those prime candidates left the department to become police
chief in a nearby community, drastically shrinking the candidate pool. Could
Manager Proakis possibly come up with a candidate, so solid in credentials, temperament,
and demeanor that the decision to appoint him could not be challenged by anyone
outside of the fringiest of the fringe?
And, within
such a small department, did such a candidate even exist?
I will cut
to the chase. The candidate did, in fact, exist but according to certain “people
in the know,” would not be interested in the job because he had outside business
interests that were more important to him than being chief.
I do not
know what conversations took place between Manager Proakis and Justin Hanrahan
or what conversations might have taken place between Justin Hanrahan and his
family, nor do I know the kind of inner conversation that takes place in the mind
of any individual facing a life-changing decision.
Perhaps the
behind-the-scenes story will one day emerge. In the meantime, Here’s my view
from 30,000 feet: When this community needed Manager Proakis to pull a rabbit
out of the hat, he did exactly that.
And he was
able to do it because when Destiny rang Justin Hanrahan’s doorbell, he chose to
open the door and welcome it in.
And because Justin
Hanrahan opened that door…
Nobody will
ever have to question the chief’s understanding of the law because this chief
is a licensed attorney.
This chief
will not have to find a comprehensive manual to keep on his desk as a handy
reference tool, because he wrote the Police Officer’s Law Manual,
which translates legalese into understandable English, and sits on the desks of
other police chiefs as a handy reference tool.
Nobody
should have reason to question whether this chief has received quality training
in all facets of policing because this chief has been delivering quality
training in all facets of policing, including hiring, training, and supervising,
to other police departments for over twenty-five years.
And for
those among us who will feel compelled to challenge his understanding of diversity
as applied to 21st-century policing, they should first take his course: Understanding
Cultural Norms, where police officers are taught to understand such
concepts as:
The
importance of understanding cultural norms,
Adapting
to a changing and diverse community,
How
cultural norms and non-English speaking can impact first responders and
call-takers,
Understanding diversity and culture in decision-making,
Police legitimacy issues, and
Understanding
the 6 pillars of US Policing with specific attention given to developing a
guardian mindset.
As an
attendee at the last Citizens Police Academy, I was fortunate to see Justin in
action, as he conducted a presentation on policing and the law. You might think
it would be a dry subject, not suited to an evening audience, at the end of a
long day. Had it been someone else conducting the presentation, it might have
been a real snoozer.
Far from it.
Justin’s in-depth knowledge, infectious enthusiasm, and generously interactive
approach made it one of the highlights of the ten-week program. Who knew that
understanding probable cause could be so fascinating?
Justin
Hanrahan’s appointment as police chief marks the beginning of a brand-new era
in the relationship between the Watertown Police Department and the Watertown
community. I suspect that he will be an exceptionally visible chief.
Of course,
there are those police reform holdovers from the previous era, who will be
looking for opportunities to question his judgment and challenge his decision-making.
They will all come armed with well-rehearsed bumper-sticker messages and a few with
an unmistakable air of moral and intellectual superiority.
They will
underestimate the new chief just as they underestimated the new manager, which
is just fine with me.
And so, as the
show goes on, normalcy and common sense may yet come back into fashion.
In the
meantime, this is a very big victory for public safety in the truly welcoming
and still somewhat townish City of Watertown. And it is one that we should take
a moment to savor.
Can I get an
Amen?
Bruce Coltin, The Battle For Watertown
