Methuen police did the
work What started off as a
paperwork dispute between the Department
of Justice and Methuen Police Chief Joe
Solomon has resulted in (among other
things), other officers accused of being
paid for work they did not do.
The fact is, the U.S. Department of
Justice has never questioned whether or
not Methuen police officers actually
worked while being paid under the federal
Weed & Seed grant. What is, and has
been questioned, (from all the documents
available), is whether or not those
officers worked in conjunction with the
restrictions in the grant and whether or
not the work was documented to the
satisfaction of the DOJ.
Yet, the Methuen city council has asked
the city’s attorney to investigate
whether or not it’s legal to make
the police officers who worked, pay back
the city for the hours that they ...
worked. Rediculous!
Mayor Manzi told listeners on the Paying
Attention! radio program last month that
there wasn’t any evidence that these
officers did not work.
How can this be? It’s simple. Police
officers put on their uniform and go to
work. They are told by their chief that
they will be assigned to work as part of
the Weed and Seed program. The officers
report to work, spend time with
neighborhood kids, reach out to the
community and respond when they are
needed. But, when the chief submits his
paperwork to the Department of Justice
for payment on the grant, he is told that
the backup information is inadequate.
Hardly a reason for the city council to
unanimously seek legal means to make
police officers pay out of their pocket
for money that has been lost due to
mishandling or administrative red tape.
We find it shameful that these fine
officers have had to read their names in
the paper, had their integrity
questioned, and have been slandered by
members of the community all because they
happened to be the officers who worked
under a federal grant that has been
called into question since the day it was
awarded.
We find it even more shameful, however,
that those who know better (and those who
should know better) continue to mislead
the public by repeating allegations that
have long been proven untrue in order to
gain political favor or praise in the
daily press.
