It was wrong for Troy to pay McLeod's legal bills

Letter to the Editor,

Troy Mayor Darren Coldwell, I attended the City Council meeting wherein the decision was made to pay Police Chief McLeod’s personal $22,000 legal bill. I know it has been a controversial subject and not an easy decision.

I would have done what you did at first, which was to go outside for various other legal opinions. However, it did not mean that you had to agree with them.

Did you ask yourself what was morally right?

Being a leader is not easy. Sometimes an individual just has to say no, and that is what you and each one of the council members should have done.

The problem originated back when the incident in question (possible excessive use of force during an arrest by Chief McLeod) occurred and the City Council did not take any disciplinary action, not even a reprimand, nothing.

This even after the arrestee later sued the city and settled for $100,000, paid for by Troy’s insurance carrier. Also, Chief McLeod did not even so much as say, “Oops, I goofed, I’m sorry.” As a result, this came to the attention of the state’s police overseeing organization (POST) where no decision was forthcoming for several years.

While McLeod waited for a decision, he accumulated legal bills in his own defense with the POST. His attorney agreed to represent him  pro bono.

Eventually, McLeod’s legal costs kept accumulating and resulted in his attorney deciding to collect for his services. McLeod then passed his bill to Troy to pay.

McLeod’s attorney originally was donating his time and you have that documented. There is a good chance if he sued the city for payment, he would not have won. No mention was made of what your own attorney advised.

  This was clearly a case of “wrong target,” wherein the police chief was asking the city to take responsibility for his own legal bill. Troy was not the correct target for this bill. McLeod was responsible for his own legal bill.

You are a well-intentioned person, and I am glad you are there. However, you need to toughen up. This looked like the council just wanted the problem to go away, at a waste of taxpayer’s money from the General Fund. (Thank you for negotiating some of the bill down.)

The council’s choice of doing nothing about the questionable arrest was a tacit approval of his action, and McLeod learned then he didn’t have to take responsibility and so set the stage for payment of his future legal bill generated in defending himself from POST.

He was rewarded for unethical behavior in the past and so he did it again, claiming the bill must be paid by the city.

There is a lesson to be learned here: If an individual or an organization rewards or ignores poor production, non-production or unethical or immoral behavior, then that individual or organization will get more of the same in the future.

Hopefully, you and the council have learned from this and in the future will be willing to put in ethics where it is needed and so properly protect the City of Troy.

— Sharon Johnson

Troy