Written by: Dan Shibilia
Link to Official Press Release Moments ago, City Hall released the attached Press Release linked above which contains a letter the Mayor and Councilor Simard are asking the Council to sign on to on Monday night.
The resolution asks the council to do something simple: sign a letter asking federal prosecutors to take another look at what happened in the Methuen Police Department.
Let's remember, the facts are not in dispute.
A former chief has pleaded guilty to 17 counts.
A former councilor posed as a police officer, made more than 40 arrests, and testified in a murder trial.
The city's own investigators found falsified credentials.
A federal case that was reportedly ready for a grand jury was shut down without explanation.
Against that record, the letter asks for very little. It doesn't demand indictments or name guilty parties beyond those already convicted. It says plainly that the U.S. Attorney alone decides what comes next. It just asks for a fresh look, and it promises the city's full cooperation.
So the question for every councilor is why anyone would say no.
Delay and amendments won't answer it. The issue has been public for years. A councilor who needs weeks to decide whether to support a review has told residents something about their priorities.
This vote doesn't convict anyone. It asks whether Methuen wants the whole story or only the parts already in court. Every councilor will answer that question on Monday, on the record.
Will they serve the City or themselves? Only time tell… .