Does the Mayor Have a Problem with the Police?

Recently, a lot of attention has been brought to policing issues, mainly, by Bradford mayor, Tom Riel, and Don Cummins, Bradford Township Supervisor Chairman.

Riel and Cummins have voiced their opinions publicly about the involvement of the State Police in DUI enforcement in Bradford.

More issues have stemmed from this, including citizens asking why our police force is so small, and why officers are being laid off/retiring, while the fire department is bringing their employees back to work.

On a local internet forum, TalkAboutBradford , citizens have been expressing their outrage.

In a thread entitled “Question for our City Government”, a user named “Mike S.”, poses a few questions.

I have a question that has been bothering me. The police department in the past year has had one officer laid off, one retire and one on extended leave. Why have they not replaced the officer that retired? If one city department can take funds from the budget and use them for another purpose (study), why can’t the police department take the the salary from the retired employee and bring back the laid off officer. The officer which was laid off made less money and paid into his benefits, the retired officer did not pay into benefits. The police department is now down two officers and one which is off an extended period of time. I have heard many excuses through the grape vine and I am now wondering who actually runs the city. Is it the mayor, the city clerk (retired fireman) or a joint effort including members of council. Once again this “rabid animal” asks a question which all tax payers should know the answer.

This poses a great question. Why hasn’t the city hired back an officer who has been laid off? One officer has retired, and his salary would have been budgeted for the entire year. Without that officer getting paid from the budget anymore, then why can’t that money that was already budgeted be used for the salary for an officer that is laid off?

Some people have tried to brush the issue off, stating that the chief of police, simply hasn’t asked for the retired officer to be hired back. Mike S. responded by saying

The Chief has been very open with the officers and I know he has been pushing for the retired officer to be replaced. It is my understanding he (Chief) requested this be brought to a vote the last meeting. This request was made directly to the mayor. As you see it didn’t happen.

Mike S. goes on in a couple more posts explaining to others, why he has faith in the chief.

Then, a disturbing post, reminiscent of days when you had to fear retribution by politicians if you spoke out against them, was made.

I just received a private message from the mayor that has prompted me to make the decision to stop posting.
[I have removed the quote from the PM as it was a personal message not a post]
It has been interesting and I wish everyone well but this leads me to believe that my freedom to speak may be pissing off the politicians.
Thanks
Mike S.

Why would the mayor feel that Mike S. should quit posting? Was Mike S. getting close to exposing something? Maybe not, but a private message from the mayor, prompting someone to quit using their first amendment rights, might lead one to believe that there is much more to this story.

Members expressed their outrage in the fact that Mr. Riel seemed to have bullied someone into not posting.

BillytheKid says

Mike S, I said in the beginning of this topic:

“In closing Mike, if I were you I would not answer these questions due to possible repercussions from the mayor and/or your chief. Remember, although you have the right to free speech, they are still the boss and seem to be able to do anything they want to. Even if you’re a “rabid animal” they will not stop until they get to you, if that’s their intentions. So be careful, the City of Bradford can not afford to loose another officer. Besides, we all know the answers.”

It appears as the mayor is now having problems with your free speech. It is a shame that he can bully people and take away their personal freedoms that he once fought for. Or is it only his personal freedom?

Tom Riel never responds to this thread publicly. For the record, it should be stated that Mayor Riel, is a member here, and has made several posts in the past, as illustrated by this post, in a thread concerning the new signs on Boylston Street.

Union Guy,

They meet the requirements of the national highway code that will go into effect….letter height versus speed limits…lettering IS reflective…background color…4 way or 3 way or 2 way intersections…Thanks for your concern, but it is covered….are Lewis Run or the townships in compliance with the future requirements???

Mayor Riel’s issues with the police continue. Another poster at TalkAboutBradford, WalkingMan, posed this question:

Last fall, the city passed an ordinance requiring graffiti cleanup. And the last few years, the city has spent millions of dollars of state tax money to beautify the downtown area and adjacent neighborhoods.

Why is this allowed to stand?

This seems like a reasonable question, that deserves a reasonable answer. Mr. Reil makes a post in which he is obviously annoyed and points the finger at all of the local police agencies.

Too bad the city and township cops (who pass throuth this area on a regular basis) are too busy posting on the local web sites to notice somebody HANGING OFF THE SIDE OF A BRIDGE with a SPRAY CAN in thier hand! The jokes on them! I will make a call to try to have it cleaned up. Hopefully they may notice this SUSPICIOUS person next time if they are not too busy texting or web posting? Thanks alot!

That, is the original post made by Tom Riel in response to the question about graffiti. Riel later edited the message to say;

Too bad the city and township cops (who pass throuth this area on a regular basis) are too busy posting on the local web sites to notice somebody HANGING OFF THE SIDE OF A BRIDGE with a SPRAY CAN in thier hand! Hopefully they may notice this SUSPICIOUS person next time if they are not too busy texting or web posting?

This further enraged some posters, like khan, who had this to say:

According to the local police, Mr Riel, you and a few of your cronies are out now taking pictures of everything they do. Whether it be the city or township police or even the state police. So while your act acting like a baffoon maybe you could snap a few pictures of the people doing the graffitti. Then turn the pictures over to the police and they can arrest them. However, it seems highly unlikely that someone so full of hot air would do that. In the meantime could you do the citizens of Bradford a favor and shut up or if that doesn’t work resign as mayor!!!!!!!

How far does all of this go? Why is the fire department the priority of the city council? Are there more fires than crimes? Was the officer laid off because of political retribution? Anyone with the answers is welcome to comment.