Another Weare police suit settled
By Dale Vincent, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Two Free State members and a
In addition to an undisclosed monetary settlement,
Alleman was arrested the following February for felony wiretapping in connection with the incident, but a
Two other Free State members,
The
The court said the First Amendment protects the right of citizens to tape the actions of police in a public place, and the Fourth Amendment protects against false arrests, and those rules apply in
But the real goal was to obtain an acknowledgement that the police behavior was wrong and to find a way to bring about change. The settlement does that, said Hipple.
In addition to the written apology, he said: The money is a way to bring about a change."
The town has had its insurance premiums hiked dramatically as a result of the financial payouts by its insurance company on lawsuits.
Velleca said Tuesday that there is one more lawsuit pending, this one against him rather than the previous chief.
Shortly after Velleca started his job last November, he fired Sgt.
Kelley had not fired the fatal shot.
The settlement of a lawsuit by the parents of the
Velleca's plan to equip officers with body cameras, worn on the chest and recording audio as well as video, is part of ensuring that, and he hopes to have the officers wearing the cameras within a month. "We're still working on that. We're really tweaking and adjusting the policy."
The cameras will provide evidence, not only of what the officers are seeing and hearing, but also of what they are saying and doing. "You should never fear your police department," said Velleca.
That video and audio evidence will be kept in the new evidence room.
"We're upgrading our evidence room," he said, making it secure, which was questionable before.
It's part of making sure
"This is a town that's rooted in tradition," said Velleca. He acknowledged that there is a trust issue regarding
Among the ways to help in addressing the issue of trust has been through the creation of a new web site. Velleca gives major credit for the new site to administrative assistant
"We tried to make it kind of user friendly," he said, including a graph showing the officers activities each month. The most recent month posted online is May, but Velleca said June statistics should be posted within a few days.
The site also offers residents an opportunity for submitting feedback, including forms to complement officers, or to file complaints.
------
___
(c)2014 The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.)
Visit The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.) at www.unionleader.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 865 |
Allred Dental Offering Wisdom Teeth Extractions and $100 Off Coupon
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News