Police audit committee gets to work after heated start

The audit procurement committee convened on Monday. Click image for CCTV video link.

What started as a combative situation between a handful of audience members and Police Audit Procurement Committee Chair Bob McCarthy eventually cooled and gave way to a productive conversation about a potential “scope of services” that will be included in a Request for Proposals (RFP) for potential independent auditing firms.

Monday night’s meeting, which was the first since the formation of the full committee, drew approximately 20 people to the Salah Meeting Room at Town Hall, many of whom were concerned with how the committee was formed as well as perceived conflicts of interest among some of the members.

On multiple occasions at the start of the meeting, Murphy clashed with resident Rita Lombardi, one of the petitioners who had led the effort to secure the police audit at a November 2023 Special Town Meeting. Lombardi made several attempts to address the committee but each time was rebuffed by McCarthy, who urged her to wait until the scheduled public comment period.

Once business got underway, committee member Kathleen Howley, who was the architect of the STM petition, raised the issue of conflicts of interest and some members’ alleged relationships with the Canton Police. Dr. Dan Muse, an appointee of McCarthy’s, took the opportunity to address the audience and made it clear that he has no formal role with the CPD, having only provided training in a volunteer capacity, similar to his work with other town departments.

Fellow appointee John Kelly, a retired State Police colonel, said he too has no conflicts or biases that would prevent him from fulfilling his obligations as a committee member.

McCarthy, who was appointed as the designee of Finance Director Randy Scollins, cited his extensive track record serving on town committees and his 30 years of experience leading procurements as a member of the Building Renovations Committee.

Of the two members nominated by the STM petitioners, Clough has experience as a member of the Finance and Capital Planning committees, and Howley drafted the STM article that authorized the police audit, noting that her intent in serving on the committee was to ensure that taxpayers’ money was well spent.

After an initial shouting match between audience members and McCarthy, the mood eventually calmed down and McCarthy and Clough were able to explain their scope of services ideas.

McCarthy said his proposal is for the audit to examine all police operations, policies and procedures, including citizen complaints; Select Board overview; crime scene protocols; professional standards and accountability; organizational structure and hierarchy; citizen privacy protection; training programs and standards; and potential areas of conflict of interest.

Clough’s proposal, first read to the committee at the meeting, contained many of the items mentioned by McCarthy but also included a review of the Police Detail Fund as well as evidence room procedures, internal affairs and instances of police misconduct, overtime and cell phone policies, and police officer training standards.

One resident asked the committee to look at citizen complaints and incidences of misconduct going back to 2007. He cited the state POST Commission report, which lists only one disciplinary incident for a CPD officer since 2007. During that timeframe, he said Stoughton had 30 incidents while Milton had 22, Randolph had 17, and Sharon had seven.

Committee members said they liked both proposals by McCarthy and Clough and agreed to merge them in advance of a possible vote at their next meeting on Thursday, May 16. The next step is to draft an RFP and an application process, which could take four to six weeks. The committee would then review all applications and select which firms to interview.

McCarthy said the goal is to select a firm with the most qualified bid but not the lowest bid. Once the audit is completed, committee members want the findings to be shared at Annual Town Meeting followed by a question and answer period. If more money is needed to complete the audit beyond the $200,000 appropriated, then the procurement committee will request additional funds from the Finance Committee.

Audience members were pleased that McCarthy allowed a 20-minute public comment period. Lombardi and resident Jennifer O’Donnell apologized for their public outbursts and said they were emotional because they are very concerned about the lack of trust between the public and government officials.

Lombardi said she was pleased with the work of the committee Monday night and asked them to work together in a spirit of collaboration. “It’s time to bring the community back together,” she said.

The next two committee meetings are scheduled for May 16 and June 12.

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