I was saddened by the news of Chief Tidwell's alleged DWI and hesitated to say anything about it, but now that Dr. Yood has commented, I will add a comment as well.
The thing that came to my mind was the case of former Councilman Don Davis. Specifically, he challenged the charge and hired an attorney who specializes in such cases. The matter was moved to the Scotch Plains court and I followed some of the proceedings. Davis managed to win the case, but it took a political toll.
You can read my post on the outcome here
By way of contrast, Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig was given a three-day suspension in 2010 for infractions that were the object of much gossip but no official charges. See Plaintalker's post here.
I took some heat for not publishing the gossip attached to this incident, but it was out elsewhere and I could not get any official corroboration of the allegations. The alleged incident happened in July 2009 and details are still available via Google for those who are curious, but no legitimate news organizations published them.
So it remains to be seen how the Tidwell story will unfold. There is much at stake here. The matter could be argued in court or maybe it could be handled internally. A disturbing element to me was an online comment at the Star-Ledger that appeared to threaten a slowed mutual aid response from Plainfield to South Plainfield in retribution for embarrassing the chief. But then again, although it cannot be proven, some officers in the Hellwig case seemed to catch hell.
It is just sad whenever a figure of public trust hits the headlines. Worse yet is when and if the allegations turn out to be true.
--Bernice
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There's no time, I don't care what happens, that drinking makes anything better. It never makes anything better. It always makes it worse and drinking always makes any event seem a hundred times worse than it actually is.
ReplyDeleteDon Imus on Imus in the Morning (October 24, 2011)
"But then again, although it cannot be proven, some officers in the Hellwig case seemed to catch hell."
ReplyDeleteActually Bernice, it can and will be proven and is sure to cost the City a boatload. Unfortunately, Hellwig and Sharon will be gone by then and we'll be left to write the check.
We trust our public officials to perform to the utmost. They are the people who set the tone by their actions and demanding respect for their positions. They are not "one of the guys" and must show by their demeanor they are "the leaders".
ReplyDeleteWe are taught to "think first, act later". Know your limitations and conduct yourself within those boundaries.
Whatever a public official does reflects not just personally but also the City and citizens who employ them. They are always in the spotlight!
At no time does the Plfd Fire Division slow a response to a fire, in or out of town. We take our oath of protecting citizens and property very seriously. Regardless of what is happening in the news around us the insinuation that anything besides this is true has never been the case.
ReplyDelete