By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Greenfield, MA) At a meeting Monday night, the Greenfield Human Rights Commission discussed the developments of the Former Police Officer Buchanan and Lieutenant Dodge V. City of Greenfield and Chief Robert Haigh court case. After hearing from residents, City Councilors, and the commissioners themselves, the commission determined their best course of action would be to write a letter to Mayor Wedegartner.
Their letter is centered on three main points based on the facts of the case available at the time of writing as they pertain to the commission’s vision and mission statements.
Their first item is a recommendation to remove Chief Haigh from his leadership role based on the guilty verdict. The Human Rights Commission states, “the racial animus that Chief Haigh was found guilty of has no place in our town/city, and have no confidence in his continuing in this leadership role.”
Next they recommend reinstating Officer Todd Dodge to his current role immediately and taking him off paid administrative leave with the restrictive “house arrest” during his scheduled shifts. “We believe that there has been no legal wrongdoing or legal penalty for his court testimony” and “it is inappropriate to ‘hold him hostage’ from his work and livelihood at this time.”
Finally, they address the Mayor’s public statement directly following the announcement of the guilty verdict. They write, her statement that Chief Haigh “‘will be exonerated’ was both inappropriate and manipulative given that [the Mayor] also stated this verdict would be going to appeal” therefore the case is under continuing litigation.
The letter was signed by the five members of the Greenfield Human Rights Commission who attended Monday’s meeting; Daniel C. Yalowitz (Chair), Wendy Goodman (Interim Vice Chair), William (Wid) Perry, Carolyn McDaniel, and Mpress Bennu. Their unanimous vote for the letter represents a quorum and a majority of the commission.