This past Friday I posted an entry regarding the case of Officer Matthew Secore and the way his "due process" rights have been trampled by the City of Hartford as Mayor Eddie Perez demands his due process rights for himself as he faces potential jail time on numerous felony charges. Keep in mind, Perez's charges are all felonies, Secore's one charge was a misdemeanor, which has been dismissed by the court, but unfortunately for Secore, was committed against the Mayor's nephew. There have been a few replies to that entry, one from Matthew Secore himself, and yes I verified it so I know it's from him.
Below is the text of Matthew Secore's comments:
Matt Secore said...
Hi Kevin, it was nice meeting you. It's also my opinion based on how my case was handled that the Hartford Police Union has been compromised by city politics. I often wondered why some of the veteran cops refused to deal with our union. I now know why. Regardless, of what you think of me or my case the fact is I had my day in court and won. My charge was dismissed and I won my job back through arbitration. It appalls me the Mayor could care less about my due process yet has the nerve to ask the public for his day in court. You have my full support exposing this double standard and I would be happy to appear on your show to answer any questions.
September 5, 2009 3:52 PM
I too have heard the same comments that the Hartford Police Union has been compromised by city politics and know several veteran officers that have questioned the Union leadership. I also have heard the same thing about the other Municipal Employee Unions as well as community groups and individuals . Although I understand the frustration, consider the alternative. In 2007 at a time when the Police Union was preparing for, or already involved in, contract negotiations, do you think they endorsed the best candidate they thought for Mayor? Or did they stand behind the candidate they knew they had to support or suffer the consequences. Myself and others have referred to this administration as an organized crime operation. Mess with a loan shark or a drug dealer and you might get your legs broken or worse, mess with the Perez Administration and you might see your job eliminated, a sudden termination, the funding eliminated for your non-profit agency, loss of your city contracts or worse. I'm sure there are many instances when the Union's would have liked to have spoke out on issues they thought were wrong or they didn't agree with. I have the luxury of being able to speak out without fear of Perez, he has already exercised his pressure over me and it hasn't stopped me yet. I have no family members working for the City for him to terminate, I am not affiliated with any non-profits that he can cut their funding and most importantly, although Eddie talks about "truth", I do have the truth on my side and I am able to prove what I say with documents. I would also argue that the union leaders, not just the Hartford Police Union, do have a strong sense of right and wrong, and for the most part the leaders and their membership do care about Hartford. They must weigh their actions in opposing the Perez regime and the consequences of their actions. This is not about the five or six members on the executive committee of the Hartford Police Union, but is more about their members and protecting their well being. The Police Union could see jobs eliminated on a moments notice if they issued the wrong press release or made a statement in opposition to the "Gospel of Perez". Just ask Clarence Corbin or Dan Nolan, and most likely if the truth were known, Tom Morrisson, Matt Hennessey, Bhupen Patel and Lee Erdmann.
I do fault the Unions as well as the Council and others for allowing this situation to develop essentially unchecked, but for any of them to come out challenging it now would be suicide, for the Unions and their members. Just ask the leadership of the Hartford Federation of Teachers who are facing legal action by the Superintendent of Schools after he hired an outside law firm to threaten them.
I understand your point 100%, but remember , in a perfect world you would be back to work already re-gaining our trust in you as a police officer, and proving your actions were a one time misdemeanor "lapse of judgement". Instead , we are too busy trying to prove that our Mayor's numerous felony "lapses of judgement" were just that and that he is not a crook as the evidence might suggest.
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