patch.jpg

HOLYOKE — Timothy Leary said Friday (Aug. 8) he has agreed to meet with the NAACP and Mayor Alex B. Morse regarding a racial slur the provisional Fire Department lieutenant was heard making in a 2012 video while off duty.

"Absolutely, I'm looking forward to it," said Leary, a 15-year veteran and former president of the firefighters' union.

That came after the Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Greater Springfield chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, urged Morse in an email (full text below) to state his position on a firefighter having made such "reprehensible remarks."

Morse said he contacted Leary and a meeting is being scheduled to discuss the remarks that the mayor said he has condemned and that fail to represent Holyoke. (Full text of Morse's statement is below).

Leary said he was available to meet Monday but is on vacation as of Tuesday and would be willing to meet with the NAACP and Morse when he returns. He declined to comment on Swan's email to Morse.

The slur allegedly was made about Ward 2 City Councilor Anthony Soto, who has clashed with Leary over the years. Leary at the time was president of Holyoke Fire Fighters Association, Local 1693, International Association of Fire Fighters.

The video was made in August 2012 when Leary was off duty and went to Hampshire Towing, of South Hadley, to meet with that company's owner, William Johnson. Johnson said in a February 2013 phone interview signs were visible on the company property stating that audio- and video-taping take place.

"While we are aware that Mr. Leary's reprehensible remarks were made in private and not while he was on duty, his actions violated public trust, which is essential for those who serve the public," Swan said.

Talbert Swan

"His blatant disrespect for Councilor Soto, the significant Latino population of Holyoke and residents of Holyoke in general is only surpassed by his arrogance in refusing to apologize for his imprudent behavior," he said.

With about half of Holyoke's population of 40,000 Hispanic, Swan questioned the effectiveness of a public servant who made remarks that "so abrasively disrespected" half the city.

Residents have petitioned the Fire Commission to rescind the provisional appointment of Leary to lieutenant, but without success. The commission is a three-member board of volunteers appointed by the mayor. The commission is responsible for the hiring, promotion and discipline of all Fire Department employees, including the chief.

Chairman Christopher Hopewell and member Yasser Menwer were involved in the promotion of Leary. The promotion was made before Morse appointed Patricia C. Devine, a former city councilor, to the Fire Commission.

Hopewell and Menwer criticized the use of the slur Leary made in the video, but said Leary was promoted to lieutenant provisionally on March 27 because he was the most qualified of the 14 candidates considered.

As the official who appoints the Fire Commission, Swan said, "I urge you to weigh in on the matter and not sit on the sideline enjoying the safety of obscurity.

"Holyoke residents deserve to know, in no uncertain terms, that their chief executive along with other elected officials will speak clearly and concisely regarding matters of racial bias and will take strong action in order to send a clear message that the city of Holyoke does not condone racial stereotyping."

Morse said Latinos deserve the same fairness and respect owed to everyone in a community.

"When the video in question surfaced two years ago, I condemned Mr. Leary's remarks in no uncertain terms, and made very clear that such language has no place in the city of Holyoke. That remains so today," Morse said.

Alex Morse

"Such comments erode the very foundation of our shared community: fairness, equality, and a respect for the dignity of all persons. Surely people in positions of power, such as Mr. Leary, should be held to this standard, and our leaders should always strive to reflect what is best about our city," he said.

The city has moved to help Latinos from feeling excluded, he said, but obviously more work is needed.

"To Holyoke's Latino community, I want to affirm that I hear your voices. I understand your frustration. And I will do everything in my power to continue making Holyoke a safe, inclusive place for everyone," Morse said.

In December 2012, Fire Chief John A. Pond disciplined Leary for the slur in the video, by placing a letter of reprimand in his personnel file and ordering that he get sensitivity training. Leary filed a grievance over Pond's discipline. The Fire Commission voted 2-1 on Feb. 13, 2013 to deny the grievance and Leary took the matter to the American Arbitration Association, which vacated the discipline.

In a Sept. 22 ruling in Scituate, Arbitrator Bruce Fraser said, "I take it as a fact that Leary made a racial slur about Soto at the meeting in August (2012)."

As offensive as the remark was, Fraser said, the fact it was made did not bring discredit on the Fire Department.

"The public was not present and there was no expectation on Leary's part that his remark would ever leave the room," Fraser said.

That the video was distributed and made public was not due to Leary's actions, Fraser said.

Lawyer Terence E. Coles, representing Leary, argued that the discipline was unjustified for two reasons. First, whatever transpired was a private conversation Leary had while off duty, he said.

Also, Coles said, Leary didn't give his consent to be taped and under state law that means the video cannot be used in a legal way against him.

Following is the Aug. 7 letter from the Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Greater Springfield NAACP, to Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse about provisional Fire Department Lt. Timothy Leary:

The following is Morse's response: