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Date: 12/4/2015
CHICOPEE – The Chicopee City Council quickly approved a settlement of $110,000 in the case of Chicopee police officers taking and distributing a photo of a murder victim at its Dec. 1 meeting.
Several councilors offered their apologies to the family of Amanda Plasse. In his briefing before the meeting, Mayor Richard Kos said he had issued a public apology for the actions of the involved officers.
Plasse was found murdered in her apartment in August 2011.
In a letter to Kos that was distributed to the councilors, Associate City Solicitor Thomas Rooke wrote a suit had been filed in the amount of $1 million in June on behalf of Michelle Matheison, Nicholas Plasse and Aimee Plasse against the city of Chicopee.
Rooke wrote he had negotiated the $1 million to $500,000 but the talks were at “an impasse.” Both sides agreed to mediation with Federal Judge-Magistrate Kenneth Neiman. The resolution was a settlement of $110,000.
“I strongly recommend that the settlement be approved by the City Council because legal fees alone would exceed the $100,000 settlement if this case were to go through trial, if a judgment was to enter against the city and/or the police officers, the city would have to pay this judgment plus 12 percent interest form the date the civil action was filed on June 10, 2015,” Rooke wrote.
Councilor Robert Zygarowksi, a retired police officer, said he has spoken to Police Chief William Jebb about making sure such an infraction doesn’t happen again.
The quick vote with no questioning was a contrast to the council’s scrutiny in August of a settlement of $135,000 in the police brutality suit involving Maylene Maldonado. The council delayed its vote until the councilors asked questions during an executive session of the Finance Committee.
In other action the Council voted to send a request made by Kos for an allocation of $425,000 in free cash to the Finance Committee. This is a second attempt to by the administration to secure the funds, which then would be loaned to the Western Massachusetts Economic Council (WMEC).
The WMEC is attempting to market a 100-acre parcel for industrial use, but an environmental survey is necessary before any potential sale could take place. The WEEC doesn’t have the funds for such a survey.
The city would get the money back once the sale was completed.
Several councilors expressed their doubts about the project as they took the vote to send the matter to committee. Councilor James Tillotson said he wasn’t “happy” with the way the WMEC has marketed the industrial property on east Main Street.
Councilor Timothy McLellan said, “I wasn’t sold before and I’m not sold now.” He would rather see the parcel left as undeveloped green space.
Councilors Adam Lamontagne and Gerry Roy both questioned the finances of the WMEC. Lamontagne wanted to know how much money the WMEC officials are being paid.
The Council also approved a special permit to allow the renovation of a building at 66 View St. into Harmony House of Western Massachusetts, a hospice organization.
The Council also approved a revision of the number of police officers in the city’s department boosting it from 111 to 115 patrolmen. Tillotson said that while the city will probably not get to 115 patrolmen due to retirements, the move allows flexibility to the mayor and Jebb to have the officers for “adequate coverage, especially in the summer.”