Hadley continues badge quest
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HADLEY - Town officials are still trying to pin down how many police commissioner badges exist in the hands of former selectmen, many of whom received the golden emblems from the police chief over the years.
Town Administrator David G. Nixon said his review continues, though he could not identify which former town officials still possess the badges that carry the seal of the commonwealth.
"It's unclear to me," Nixon said. "I have guesses and surmises, nothing concrete."
Nixon's ongoing review was prompted by the police seizure of a Hadley police commissioner badge last month. During that incident, former Selectman David S. Moskin had waved the badge out a driver's-side window at a Hadley patrol officer who had stopped him for speeding on Route 9, according to a police report.
Police issued Moskin a speeding ticket and confiscated his badge.
Since then, Nixon has been working with Hadley Police Chief Dennis J. Hukowicz on a townwide badge quest. Nixon said Hukowicz recently provided him with a list of selectmen serving over the past 20 years or so. However, the town administrator said he needs more detailed information to identify how many police commissioner badges were issued over the years and to whom.
He said records and invoices for the badges would be helpful in identifying "who has one, and who doesn't."
"As time allows, we will continue working on this issue," Nixon said.
Meantime, Hukowicz recently issued a memo to the police force notifying officers which town officials have authority to possess police commissioner badges, the Gazette has learned.
Hadley's Board of Selectmen serves as the town's police and water commissioners, a role not uncommon in small towns. Some current selectmen have police commissioner badges, though at least one board member does not have one.
Haphazard practice
A Gazette inquiry found that the issuing of police commissioner badges may have been a haphazard practice over the years. In interviews, some former selectmen said they never received a badge. Others said they either don't recall receiving one, declined a badge, or still have one.
"It's been going on for a good many years, as I understand it," said Glenn E. Clark, a former Hadley selectman who served from 1993 to 2003 and still has his police commissioner's badge.
"It was customary to give them to all members of the Board of Selectmen," Clark said. "I figured they had been issued to everyone, but I didn't ask."
Clark said he did not use or carry his badge in public, and no one ever asked him to return it. There is no formal town policy for returning police commissioner badges once selectmen leave office.
"Why should they keep the badge?" said John P. Regish, of Hadley, and a former federal officer with the U.S. Treasury Department. "They shouldn't have been given a badge in the first place."
Regish said the town should put some kind of ethical standard in place. He said he believes the issuance of badges will only add to a continued abuse of power and tool for special treatment. If recognition is desired, he recommends certificates be issued to board members, which can be displayed in their living rooms.
No badges for them
But not all selectmen received police commissioner badges over the years, the Gazette review found.
John P. Connor, a former Hadley selectman who served from 2001 to 2007, said he doesn't recall receiving a police commissioner badge, though he was not completely certain.
"I know I saw other selectmen with badges," Connor said. "I can't recall whether I got one."
Nevertheless, Connor said he never carried a police commissioner's badge on his person or in his car.
"I think that would be a little silly, to tell you the truth," he said.
Richard V. Wilga said he was aware of the existence of police commissioner badges when he served on the Board of Selectmen from 1996 to 2002, though he was never offered the gold shield, nor did he receive one.
"I didn't ask any questions," Wilga recalled. "It was never an issue for me."
When she was elected to the Hadley Board of Selectmen in 2007, former UMass Police Chief Barbara R. O'Connor said she was offered a police commissioner badge, but declined. O'Connor, who is now police chief at the University of Illinois, said the purpose of the badge was never explained to her.
Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.
