The council voted 4 to 1 to require prospective police commissioners to answer three questions relating to their backgrounds: “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” “Have you ever been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude?” and “Are you presently on court-ordered probation or parole?”
Each question affords applicants the opportunity to detail the date of the conviction as well as the circumstance. Although police commissioners serve at the pleasure of the council, applicants for the commission had not been required to disclose prior convictions, nor were they required to submit to a background check.
“This doesn’t necessarily exclude you from getting appointed,” Vice Mayor Anja Reinke said. “It’s just that way the council has full information about the particular candidate. I think it helps protect the city against any accusations from the public or anybody if there happens to be some kind of issue.”
The disclosure requirements may also be extended to the Park, Recreation and Community Services Board and the Planning Board.
Information about Brady’s drunk-driving conviction was provided to the council in a confidential memo from Barlow after Police Chief Tim Stehr said he learned of the arrest from police officers.
Despite objections from Councilman David Gordon, his colleagues elected to keep the memo private.
“Unfortunately, in the past weeks there has been some human impact on this whole thing concerning the Police Commission,” Gordon said. “I can tell you that for an individual, or other individuals who are put through this, it was particularly and very extensively painful.”
