A Premeditated Witch-Hunt

To the Editor:

I am outraged by the conduct of the Police Commission throughout their specious campaign to rid themselves of Chief James Lysaght.  I have followed this story for more than two years, and very early on I began drawing clear conclusions that this panel would stop at nothing short of getting their way and firing the chief.

Well, what a surprise.  At an 8-minute meeting on Friday the commission unanimously voted to dismiss Lysaght. This despite Arbitrator Murphy’s strong recommendation for both sides to reconcile their differences and to take corrective actions in the best interests of the town.

No doubt about it, the arbitrator found that there is just cause for terminating the chief, based on the case presented by the town attorney.  I can accept that; in fact it finally produced some sense of credibility to the Police Commission’s side of the matter, which they seemed incapable of articulating publicly. But apparently the commission stopped reading the report right there, ignoring the arbitrator’s urgent call for reconciliation between the two sides as the best resolution.

As if the quickie 8-minute meeting to fire wasn’t enough, what I found even more irritating about this commission’s conduct is its constant failure to answer reporters’ questions regarding its positions and actions.  For Chairman James Reilly or any other commission member to have nothing to say publicly in their defense (or even to express simple compassion for the chief after sealing his fate and impacting his career) only galvanizes my opinion that this was very much a premeditated witch-hunt with a predictable outcome.  I would remind Mr. Reilly and the entire Commission that they are publicly elected officials, and that shunning public comment while waging this campaign against Chief Lysaght only raises doubts about their fitness to serve.  The Police Commission should re-read Arbitrator Murphy’s entire report thoroughly; there is plenty of material in there that clearly reveals that many of the chief’s faults were exacerbated by the commission’s micro-managing and poor communications.

So Chief Lysaght was not a stellar performer for the town, accepted. But this Police Commission should certainly take a look at itself in the mirror and see that this ugly, protracted affair has not exactly revealed them to be noble public servants who demonstrate great leadership and communication.  Without widespread changes to this panel, I fear that the next chief of police may quickly fall into an adversarial relationship with them, and the town will continue to get an overall black eye on how it manages its Police Department.

Finally, I find it most disappointing that First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal has chosen to distance himself from the Lysaght matter at most key points since it started bubbling up as a town issue.  As the elected leader of this town, I would have expected to see him much more involved in sensitive matters such as this.  He, and his Police Commission need to do better.

Cameron Gilchrist

2 Susan Lane, Newtown                                             March 4, 2000