Kelley slams city police

BROCKTON — Two of the city's mayoral candidates sparred in a debate Wednesday night over alleged inappropriate conduct by city police officers.

The debate, held at Messiah Baptist Church on Legion Parkway, was sponsored by the Brockton area chapter of the NAACP.

When moderator Frances Pina asked candidate Gayle Kelley how she would address crime if authorities are acting in disrespect of their badge, Kelley said city police officers have been reported to take part in inappropriate conduct.

Kelley said she talked with police directly and residents in city neighborhoods about the issue.

“It's been reported time and time and time again that there are drug deals that are going on in our streets that some of our officers are taking part in,” Kelley said. “Some of our officers are reported to have taken bribes. Some of our officers beat up people indiscriminately and leave the scene without taking responsibility for it.”

“How can we trust these police officers and this department fully if this type of behavior goes on?” Kelley said.

Kelley went on to say people in higher city positions “know that these kinds of things go on and look the other way.”

Mayor James Harrington, who is running for re-election and whose daughter is a city police officer, called Kelley's comments “outrageous.”

“To make these outrageous statements in front of a crowd of people that police officers are selling drugs and that those things are going on ... it's outrageous to say that,” he said.

“If I had a campaign that said those kinds of things, I wouldn't run for office,” he said.

Harrington said when complaints are issued against police officers, “we investigate it, and for the first time in many, many years we suspend the officers. This has not been a practice in the past. We have suspended officers.” He blasted Kelley for not bringing such information forward to authorities.

“If you have that kind of information, you have a responsibility to turn that over to the authorities,” he said. “If you don't trust the police department, turn it over to the district attorney.”

Candidate Jass Stewart, sitting in between Kelley and Harrington, said “leadership is not about placing blame.” Stewart said building a strong training program for police officers can help officers interact with residents appropriately.

“Of course we want our police force to be respectful of residents. We want residents to be respectful of police officers,” Stewart said.

“I will provide the best training available so that we can build trust in our community,” he said.

Later, Stewart said he was as outraged as Harrington was about Kelley's comments.

“I was deeply disturbed and offended by Ms. Kelley's public accusation that professionals in our police department are involved in dealing drugs, taking bribes and other criminal activities,” Stewart said. While any large municipality faces challenges with people who may not live up to the institution's standards, “there are proper venues for addressing these issues,” Stewart said.

For a mayoral candidate “to publicly impugn the integrity of the very individuals she is hoping to lead and inspire is a clear and striking indication that Ms. Kelley is not the right person to lead our city,” Stewart said.

Lt. Leon McCabe, president of the Brockton Police Superior Officer's Union, called Kelley “irresponsible” for making accusations against police without alerting authorities.

“She calls herself a city leader? A city leader would bring all this information forward to the chief, so the chief could investigate it properly,” McCabe said. “She's very irresponsible for handling it the way she is.”

“If she doesn't trust the Brockton Police Department, then go to the state police or go to the FBI,” McCabe said. He said Police Chief William Conlon is “an honorable man and he would handle the situation,” if he ever heard of any such accusations.

McCabe said he would encourage Kelley “to come forward rather than making accusations that she does not back up.” During the debate, the three also focused on city crime. The preliminary election, which will decide the final two candidates, is Tuesday.

On the issue of crime, Harrington argued that it's others who need to take more responsibility. Brockton has seen 11 people, including three teenagers, killed this year.

The mayor said there is a “perception” that Brockton is not a safe city.

“The perception is obviously that things are worse than they are,” he said.

Stewart, who called for updating police department resources, said the opposite.

“Crime is not a perception. It's a reality for many of us,” Stewart said.

Maria Papadopoulos can be reached at mpapadopoulos@enterprisenews.com.