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Date: 3/20/2015
CHICOPEE – Two police issues were discussed at the City Council meeting on March 17.
The council approved an ordinance change that allows an expansion in the number of officers in the Chicopee Police Department. Mayor Richard Kos had asked the council to amend the city ordinance that described the composition of the department earlier this year, and that ordinance was amended again.
The point of the second amendment, Kos explained, was to allow him to hire new police candidates now in order to enroll them in a police academy class in a timely fashion and prevent the department from losing positions this summer. The mayor said there would be a number of retirements this year creating vacancies.
If the council had not approved the expansion from 108 to 111 patrolmen, the city may not have been able to bring new officers for this summer when they are needed. Kos noted without the expansion it would take almost a year to bring the department up to full complement.
He said the move would not require any additional appropriation of funds. Kos said that 10 new candidates would be hired and anticipates making his decision within a week or two. He said the 14-week police academy would start in April.
City Councilor James Tillotson said that if the council hadn’t approved the amendment, “we would be short all summer long.”
Councilor Frank Laflamme agreed and said, “It’s a great thing.”
The council also approved to allocate $60,000 to pay for additional legal counsel to defend the city and the police officers named in a lawsuit. The suit, which alleges police brutality against Maylene Maldonado in February 2013, gained additional attention with the release of the booking video.
The video shows former Police Sgt. Daniel Major placing his hand at one point on Maldonado’s throat.
City Solicitor Marshall Moriarty told Reminder Publications there had been request made for the video from “several entities,” and it was deemed to be a “public document.”
Moriarty confirmed that to that date the lawsuit had been filed but yet served. When asked if the release of the video could affect the outcome of the lawsuit, Moriarty declined to comment as the litigation is ongoing.
In other actions, the council approved $350,000 to purchase a new Vactor truck to clear sewer lines and transfer totaling $44,662 within the Parks and Recreation Department.
An allocation of $19,500 to pay for a traffic study at the Granby/Montgomery/McKinstry Road intersection was sent to the Finance Committee. Department of Public Works Superintendent Jeffrey Neece said the study would be an “extensive” one but would be used with the data already collected about the amount of traffic using the intersection. Tillotson made the motion to move the proposal to the committee saying he had questions about it. Councilor Robert Zygarowski also voted for the additional discussion but said, “We have a disaster waiting there.”