WHAT IS GOING ON AT HPD- PEELING BACK THE LAYERS OF THE ONION

I know many people are asking "What is going on at HPD?"

The answer is that there are many parts to the recent dynamic at HPD , and not everyone is happy with it. To understand the motivation is like putting together the pieces of a very complicated puzzle and then standing back and trying to make sense of it all.

I think much of it started with the arrival of a new Police Chief almost 14 months ago when David Rosado began. He soon brought in another retired State trooper as his Assistant Chief and brought back another HPD veteran officer to fill his second Assistant Chief slot. Jason Thody, a retired HPD Captain was named as Assistant Chief.

The days of the HPD Police Union running the show at HPD quickly came to an end. Rosado took a strong stand on accountability and the prompt resolution of Internal Affairs Investigations. Investigations which had normally taken months to conclude in the past were now being brought to a resolution in weeks. The case of former HPD Stephen Barone was a prime example. 

This new accountability under Rosado could not be allowed to stand and the mechanism was promptly put into play to derail this runaway train of discipline and accountability.

What better way to do this than by baiting the media into becoming an unwitting partner if they would bite. And bite they did as detailed in excerpts from a recent IAD Investigation into Assistant Chief Thody.

An investigation was launched into perjury allegations against Thody, motivated and brought forward by HPD Union President John Szewczyk. 

The perjury allegations arose from Thody's statements during a deposition related to a terminated HPD Officer, Robert Lanza. Lanza was terminated after his off-duty DUI arrest where he was recorded on police video yelling the "N" word numerous times.

Thody was asked during his questioning about a training session he may have taught several years earlier. When he asked to be able to look at his electronic calendar to refresh his memory for the dates in question, the HPD Union Attorney refused to allow that.

At one point in the IAD report, Lt Brian Bowsza, Chief of Staff to HPD Chief David Rosado, stated that the line of questioning used for Thody by the Union attorney was "a perjury trap, underhanded, and not a fair thing to do"

It is also very interesting to read the detailed account of the efforts to get this story into the media.

Eventually, Thody was cleared of any wrongdoing but the issue pointed to a greater issue of record keeping and clerical processes at the HPD Academy. The IAD also clarifies that the record keeping that led to the "perjury " allegations against Thody had gone on for years at the Academy. Upon learning of it, Chief Rosado immediately implemented new procedures to make sure the process was stopped.

The interesting part though is that initially when the HPD Union President pointed the finger at Thody for his alleged wrongdoing, that same finger was eventually pointed back at Union President John Szewczyk for wrong doing that exceeded the allegations he was making against Thody. Ultimately the allegations against Szewczyk were confirmed and documented by IAD Investigators and in the reports.

At one point during an interview with William H. Tanner III, the compliance Officer for POSTC stated that , in his opinion, Chief Thody was "led by the Union's Attorney to answer" and "then his inaccuracy was used to create the perception of an intentional lie" 

It is also interesting to note, at the time this incident occurred , Thody was still at the rank of Captain and a member of the HPD Union. It is also interesting to question under what authority Szewczyk "launched" his own investigation into another officer, Thody, and why was it not referred to IAD, Under what authority did Szewcztk gain access to the office and records in the Fiscal Management Division to remove Thody's time cards and then release those same records to the media without following the proper procedures to request them.

What was the motivation? Was it to discredit Chief Thody? Was it to discredit Chief Rosado? Was it to pave the way for other Union claims of alleged Sexual Harassment and Hostile Work conditions? Did they have to take out and discredit Chief Thody and Chief Rosado to  make their stories seem more credible?

It is ironic that the finger Szewczyk pointed at Thody is now pointing directly back at him twice as hard as POSTC is looking at Szewczyk's certification as an instructor and whether actions will be taken to revoke that certification for various reasons.

Much more will be coming out soon as other layers of the onion in the form of ongoing IAD investigations are completed. I think the last few months of finger pointing at HPD will, become much clearer.                                                                                      

THODYN IAD EXCERPT 1 by  on Scribd

THODY IAD EXCERPT 2 by kevinhfd on Scribd

THODY IAD EXCERPT3 by kevinhfd on Scribd

THODY IAD EXCERPT 4 by kevinhfd on Scribd