The following is a transcription of a communication from our chief of police to a member of his department and the Town Administrator--a transcription, not an exact copy.
From: David Kurz
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 11:10 AM
To: David Holmstock
CC: Todd Selig
Subject: RE: Julian Smith
Thanks David for the information. I will discuss the situation with Todd next week. In the interim, if there are any further issues, be as polite as you can . . . I know that anyway . . . .and contact me immediately.
----------Original Message--------------
From: David Holmstock
To: Andrew Buinicky; Bob Joslin; Dave Kurz
CC: dholmstock at ci.durham.nh.us
Sent: 7/16/2005 7:32 AM
Subject: Julian Smith
Dear Chief,
I would like to bring to your attention what I feel is a pattern of an abuse of power by Council Person Julian Smith. Two incidents lead me to write this letter about the concerns the patrol has about his conduct.
The first incident occurred with Sgt. Joslin not long after we started patrolling the Wiswall Bridge as a directed patrol. Sgt. Joslin was stopped by Council Person Smith and he told Sgt. Joslin that he did not believe we should be enforcing the bridge by stopping people from jumping off of it. He went on to have further conversations about his experience with the bridge and continued to express his opinions about the way we should enforce the bridge. This incident was shortly after we were given the clear directive on how to enforce the bridge. Then we have a council person telling us that we should not be dealing with it the way we are directed to deal with it. Sgt. Joslin said he tried to avoid furthering any conversation with him on that night. If Council Person Smith had an issue or concern, it is my opinion that should have been forwarded to the Chief and not to a Sgt. on patrol as if he was giving orders.
Yesterday, 07-15-2005, Sgt. Buinicky stated he was going to an ambulance call when he was stopped by Council Person Smith. Again, Council Person Smith spoke to Sgt. Buinicky in ehat he described as a, "Loud and Threatening" voice. Smith asked Sgt. Buinicky if he was the officer that was out patrolling the area the night prior. He asked him again, even after the quesion was answered. Council Person Smith then went on to point out how he wanted a motor vehicle accident investigation conducted by our department and the steps he wanted us to take to investigate it. The facts of the accident are that Officer Lyczak had already investigated the crash, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Smith in any way shape or form. That did not stop him form trying to tell us how to do our jobs.
In my opinion, Council Person Smith is clearly trying to intimidate officers on this department because of his position on the council. My concern, and that of Sgt. Buinicky, is what if that was officer Lyczak on patrol yesterday, and not Sgt. Buinicky. According to Sgt. Buinicky, Mr. Smith told him he was going to speak to the officer who took the accident and tell him what should be done anyway. Would the tone and message have been any worse than what it was when he was talking to a Sgt, who clearly described his tones as threatening and loud in nature?
At this point I would like these concerns on record in case this pattern of dealing with officers in this department gets any worse. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Sgt. David Holmstock (204)
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Some points of clarification and/or correction to the above---
1) to "enforce the bridge" means to tell the kids jumping off a 15' high bridge into the river and swimming not to, even though there is no ordinance on the books prohibiting this activity.
2) Whichever police officer engaged in a casual and brief conversation with Council Person Smith did not identify himself, but it was in the afternoon, when the children and teens were swimming, not at night, as is stated in the report.
3) The matter of how swimming in the river at the bridge is to be regulated has been taken up by the Council and the Town Administrator, as well as the town's insurance advisor.
4) Since Sgt. Buinicky (who also did not identify himself) was sitting in his cruiser with the motor and the air-conditioner running, it was probably necessary to speak loudly in order to be heard.
5) The particulars of the accident investigation--an accident in which town property was damaged and Council Person Smith found it necessary to alert the Department of Public Works to have the damage repaired, because the police investigation took no note of it--were not discussed with Sgt. Buinicky, but rather with the watch commander in charge when Council Person Smith called the police department on behalf of the neigbor whose garage doors were totally destroyed when the vehicle careened across the road, through the yard and knocked an antique auto off the blocks on which it was stored. (7/29/05 addendum--it now seems that it was Sgt. Buinicky who took the call from Council Person Smith, but did not consider it worth-while to volunteer when he was asked about the accident that they had already spoken on the phone)
Bottom line--police officers do not like being told what to do by citizens. Not even by citizens who have been elected to represent those who pay their salaries and provide their perks.
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The Town Administrator states his position:
Dear Julian,
I am writing to let you know that two recent interactions between you and our police officers have caused concern amongst two of our sergeants. (Please see email
stream below dated July 16, 2005 between Chief Kurz and Sgt. Holmstock.) There is a perception that you are utilizing your position as a Town Councilor to direct officers in the field as though you were their supervisor. As you know, the Town Charter states, "No Councilor shall give orders to or interfere with the performance of the duties of any of the administrative officers or employees, either publicly or privately." While I do not believe that this was at all your intention, once one is a Town Councilor it becomes very hard for that individual to speak only as a resident when our officers know very well that the individual is also on the Council and as such has great influence over the affairs of the Town. Whether you identify yourself as a Councilor or not, the police officers likely know you by sight and understand that you are a member of the Town's governing body. Thus your words carry special weight. While I regularly encourage members of the Council to politely and professionally interact with staff to obtain information or to learn more about policy issues, great care should be taken not to give the impression that orders or directives, overt or subtle, are being conveyed as a result of the discussion. If Councilors disagree with policy directives or feel strongly that a certain action should be taken, the appropriate course would be to contact me individually or to bring the matter up before the full Council so that the topic could be fully and openly discussed. I would then follow up on the concern utilizing the appropriate chain of command.