This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Lower Merion Hires 'Neutral Fact-Finders' Following Police Department Allegations

Outside firms have been hired to defend the township from possible civil actions, officials say.

Faced with police labor issues and several legal accusations, Lower Merion Township has hired at least two companies to help it defend itself.

Wednesday evening’s Township Board of Commissioners meeting began with a moment of silence for who died July 3 and an announcement that the township has hired a private company to investigate the Lower Merion Police Department’s recruitment, hiring and promotional procedures.

It was not, perhaps, the best timing, said Gavin Goschinski, president of the Lower Merion Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 28. Goschinski was not present at the Commissioners meeting.

Find out what's happening in Bryn Mawr-Gladwynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Board of Commissioners President Liz Rogan announced that the Township has contracted Verita LLC of Malvern to conduct an independent investigation of the Lower Merion Police Department’s recruitment, hiring and promotional procedures and practices to determine “equal opportunity compliance.”

Last week, faced with possible litigation stemming from a black Lower Merion police officer’s public claims of discrimination earlier this spring, and subsequent complaints from the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, the township confirmed it had also hired Deasey, Mahoney, Valentini & North, attorneys that “have been counseling and defending public entities in civil rights matters for nearly 25 years,” according to the law firm’s website.

Find out what's happening in Bryn Mawr-Gladwynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On May 18, Lower Merion Police Officer Kerry Godbold went before the Board of Commissioners and accused the department and board of discrimination with regard to its promotion practices. Godbold questioned why a recent Civil Service list, which would have given him the opportunity to be promoted to the rank of sergeant, was allowed to expire.

“We are investigating it, and we’re also investigating the broader NAACP complaint about hiring practices,” Rogan said last week.

Since that night, Godbold has attended some of the Board of Commissioner’s Police Committee meetings with representatives from the NAACP (including Philadelphia chief M. Whyatt Monsesire), but he was not present at last night’s meeting, which was sparsely attended by the public.

Godbold said he preferred not to comment on this story.

Rogan said Verita LLC investigators are “neutral fact-finders” that conduct interviews and review relevant documents and has extensive experience probing all types of employment-related claims. The company is “tasked solely with providing an unbiased factual account of the police department’s recruitment, hiring and promotional procedures regarding Equal Opportunity compliance,” Rogan said.

As for Deasey, Mahoney, Valentini & North, “it’s not that the township has retained” the law firm for any possible lawsuit, said Brenda Viola, public information officer. Rather, “our insurance trust has assigned pre-litigation counsel for the township in this matter,” she said, a week ago.

Viola was referring to Delaware Valley Insurance Trust (DVIT), which she said plays many different roles for Lower Merion. Viola said the trust provides training to protect against liability, and “everything from open records training to workers’ compensation training—any way that the township can mitigate damages, of any sort, whether they are workers’ compensation claims or any other kind.”

The township is considered a member of DVIT, as are many other municipalities in Montgomery County and the broader region.

Viola said hiring the Deasey firm was a “proactive approach to protect the township from potential litigation. It’s a normal thing for the insurance trust to do.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?