The Jacket on the Chair.
By Jim Conley • Feb 19th, 2008 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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What would it take to bounce someone from holding the public trust in Brookline? Well, when it comes to Town Counsel Jennifer Dopazo I don’t think it’s possible.
There’s the general incompetence of the office, but that pales next to her woeful performance in the Arthur Conquest matter. And I have to believe that the litany of false statements made by Dopazo are the likely reason behind the Selectmen’s shooting down an appeal on BPD’s internal investigation.
Nearly ten months after the Brawl at Town Hall, Dopazo has yet to clear up the patently false statements and inconsistent statements she made to police investigators.
Let’s just take her statement that: “Mr. Kaplan [former ZBA member Lawrence Kaplan] was trying to exit the hearing room but that Mr. Conquest was blocking his path.” According to witnesses, Kaplan was involved in the so-called altercation wearing shirtsleeves. His jacket and briefcase were where he left them–at the desk he used during the hearing.
Now, Dopazo may believe that Kaplan was leaving the hearing room. But others say he was pursuing the uppity residents who challenged the ZBA decision. As Johnny Cochoran might have said: “When the jacket’s on the chair, Kaplan’s going nowhere.”
And were Dopazo to give her version of events under oath, well…
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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911 CALL OR 2222 POLICE LINE CALL?
Lt. Burke’s report starts with two 911 calls, the first from Town Counsel. In the portion of the report on Town Counsel’s testimony, Town Counsel is reported to have said she went to her office and called the BPD on its 2222 line. (I assume BPD records both 911 and 2222 calls.) Did Town Counsel make two calls or just one? Was Town Counsel aware that Polly Selkoe had made a 911 call on her cell phone? Perhaps the Town’s new Committee will seek clarifications.
The new Committee might be curious whether Town Counsel, when she made her 911 or 2222 call to BPD, knew that Lawrence Kaplan was the uncle of BPD Sergeant Campbell. According to Lt. Burke’s report Town Counsel “thought Ms. Selkoe’s call already was made.” Weren’t the BPD responding quickly enough? Did she have a special message to pass on to BPD?
According to Lt. Burke’s report, Town Counsel “describes Mr. Conquest as a soft spoken man and he was that way when he addressed he ZBA board during the hearing that night. However, during his interaction with Mr. Kaplan he was loud and seemed angry.” Perhaps it was surprising to Town Counsel that Conquest, an African American, would come to the aid of a five foot tall grandmother being yelled at by Kaplan. Was this anger or chivalry on Conquest’s part? At the time, would she have described Kaplan as “a soft spoken man” or perhaps otherwise?
I wonder, if it was all reversed…five foot tall grandmother coming to the aid of Conquest to whom Kaplan was yelling at….would the whole outcome be the same?