By Steve Landwehr
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HAMILTON — A hornet dropped from the ceiling just before the start of last night's selectmen's meeting in Hamilton, then flew back up. It was an apt metaphor for the mood of the more than 50 people who spilled out of the Memorial Room into the hallway.
They were mad as hell.
In their first public meeting since placing police Chief Walter Cullen on paid leave after allegations of fraud surfaced last week, board members got an earful from residents who said they were both angry and embarrassed about the scandal rocking the police force.
"It seems what transpired here was practically criminal behavior," Blueberry Lane resident John Celata said, as dozens of heads nodded in agreement.
Dick Low, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, told the crowd board members had been aware of problems with the training records of police officers as long as a year ago, but they had also been alerted to other possible troubles on the force, and felt they had to prioritize.
"We made choices and decisions about what to look at first," Low said. "I know that's not a satisfactory answer."
"No, it's not," the crowd replied, nearly in unison.
The state Office of Emergency Medical Services has suspended the town's ambulance license for at least a year, after it said it uncovered evidence that 19 officers on the 23-member force had lied about medical training records.
Since the Police Department had been running the town's ambulance service, all officers were required to be state-certified EMTs. The agency said 10 of the officers, including Cullen, had signed attendance sheets for training courses that were never held or only partially held.
Those officers also had their licenses pulled for at least a year.
Nine other officers also falsely signed attendance sheets, according to the agency, but either took those courses later outside the station, or had not been required to be recertified this year. They were reprimanded.
All the officers received a stipend of $60 a week for being EMTs, plus overtime pay to attend training.
That upset Miles River Road resident Tom Lee.
"If I walked into the Hamilton police station every week and stole $60, I'd be in deep trouble," Lee said.
Those stipends have been suspended, Low said last night.
Cullen got into more serious trouble later last week when a separate investigator, former Plymouth police Chief Robert Pomeroy, said there was evidence that Cullen and Sgt. Donald Dupray, the head of the policemen's union, had falsified documents to obtain a state grant for computer equipment.
As a result, selectmen placed Cullen and Dupray on paid leave on Friday. Pomeroy said there was no evidence either of the men benefited financially.
The grant irregularities were one of 18 specific complaints about the department that selectmen asked Pomeroy to look into, many of them dealing with fundraising for the police station cupola. Others involved allegations of misdeeds that Officers Karen Wallace and Arthur Hatfield made against the chief and Officer Michael Marchand.
Pomeroy's report was made public yesterday, and the board went over each of the allegations briefly last night.
In almost every case, Pomeroy found there was no merit to the charges. He did, however, suggest the town's labor counsel should be asked to decide if the actions of some town employees deserved disciplinary action.
"I found many of these issues were rumors based on rumors," Pomeroy said last night.
A particularly upsetting question for many residents was whether the town can do anything to prevent Cullen from collecting his pension if he is found guilty of a crime.
In a word, no, said the selectmen and Town Counsel Donna MacKenna. That determination can only be made by the Essex County Retirement Board, though several town officials said conviction of a crime would definitely be something the retirement board would hear about.
Cullen just moved up his retirement from February to Dec. 31. Some residents asked if there was a way to get rid of him before then, by terminating his employment.
They were told it isn't simply a matter of letting Cullen go. He would have to be given a hearing first, and chances are he'd hit retirement long before he could be fired.
Resident Bob Burr wondered about the repercussions of firing the entire department.
Huge, the town's litigation counsel, Lenny Kasten replied.
"If they go to arbitration and win, you have a new police force tomorrow, and there are 38 people on it," Kasten said, in reference to the 19 officers accused of lying about medical training.
Several asked what exposure the town faced from private and public insurers, such as Medicare, which might be looking for reimbursements of bills they paid for ambulance runs staffed by EMTs who weren't properly certified.
Low admitted it is a possibility and a big concern.
He couldn't say how much the unfolding turmoil is costing the town, but between paying the salaries of two chiefs, having two officers out on paid leave and all the additional legal bills the town is piling up, it's a lot, Low said.
Pomeroy is getting paid essentially what Cullen is, which amounted to about $102,000 last year.
Rock Maple Avenue resident Rick Mitchell laid some blame at the feet of selectmen.
"This is hugely embarrassing for all the town," Mitchell said. "Unfortunately you have lost credibility. People will be looking to you for leadership."
The board should be disclosing facts as it goes along, not waiting for them to appear in a newspaper, he said.
Other residents asserted town officials have lost their credibility, along with police officers.
The meeting was intended to answer residents' questions, but they had some suggestions about long-term ramifications.
Willow Street resident Bob Burr said this might be a chance to merge the Hamilton and Wenham police departments.
"As bad as this is, it opens opportunities to be more responsive and cost-effective," Burr said.
But Mitchell stated the obvious: Why Wenham would want to have anything to do with the Hamilton Police Department at this time?
And Meyer Lane resident Edwin Howard suggested neither Wenhamites nor anyone else would ever again have the same level of faith in Hamilton.
"The public trust has been broken," he said. "You (Pomeroy) seem to feel it can be restored. I don't think that's ever going to take place. Once trust is broken, it can't be replaced."
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