Police Chief James Walters yesterday disbanded the department's Honor Guard, a day after the 15 officers who volunteer in the group did not to appear at the Board of Selectmen's swearing-in ceremony.
Walters said the Honor Guard members' decision not to attend the ceremony at Greenwich Library prompted the move, because they "have a responsibility to appear when needed for these ceremonies."
"They're not all expected to attend every event," Walters said. "However, when we have a special event, we request their attendance to fulfill their obligation and commitment and be part of the team."
Since it was established seven years ago by Walters' predecessor, retired Chief Peter Robbins, the Honor Guard has "carried the colors" at more than a dozen ceremonies each year, primarily memorial services for fallen officers in Greenwich and elsewhere, as well as veterans and Sept. 11 services, parades and swearing-in ceremonies for new officers and selectmen.
First Selectman Jim Lash said he supported Walters' move.
Sgt. James Bonney, who isn't an Honor Guard member but presides over the Silver Shield Association, the police union, called Lash's position "a slap in the face." More than 30 union members were picketing outside the library during Lash's swearing-in ceremony, as part of an ongoing protest against the first selectman's decision not to meet with them to discuss the union's mounting grievances with Walters.
"It's a slap in the face that he would expect us to show up to make him look good when he doesn't even have the common courtesy to meet with us," Bonney said. "Why should anyone in our organization do anything for that guy on a voluntary basis when he refuses to even meet with us? He's destroying the department's morale and every single member will remember this forever."
The union passed its second vote of no confidence in Walters on Oct. 4. Their grievances range from training violations that prompted recent citations from the state Division of Occupational Health and Safety to payroll and personnel complaints.
One of those complaints involved Sgt. Kraig Gray, who was serving overseas last summer when Walters approved a payroll cut to him that Lash later overturned. Gray, an original Honor Guard member, said yesterday that swearing-in ceremonies and parades are not the primary focus of the group.
"They are important, but the real reason we join is to represent the town of Greenwich at memorial services for fallen officers and veterans events," Gray said while he directed traffic near a construction project in central Greenwich. "It's one of the other, little things that make the police department special. The guys that join aren't doing it for personal gain. We mainly do it for the families of fallen cops, and it's also something nice to do for our veterans."
Asked if he'd missed any past Honor Guard events, Gray said, "Probably not." Gray said he was attending a homecoming event in Orangeburg, N.Y., for an Army Reservist Sunday night.
Walters said yesterday he directed Deputy Chief Pat Chila to send an e-mail to all Honor Guard members.
According to Bonney, the e-mail stated: "Effective immediately, all honor guard activities have been suspended. . . All Honor Guard members are to turn in their Honor Guard badges to me at the beginning of their next tour of duty that I am available. I will be in contact with you as to the future of the Honor Guard."
Walters said yesterday that the unit could not be maintained if members were going to "pick and choose" what events to attend.
"If they're not going to show up to events on their whim, then we're not going to continue to provide the resources for the unit to exist," Walters said.
The department purchases full-dress uniforms for the Honor Guard members and reimburses them "compensatory time" or overtime pay for practices and ceremonies, Walters said. Walters said he didn't know how much money the department spends on the Honor Guard each year.
"We don't keep records in that format at this point," Walters said.
Lash said he knew that Walters was "thinking of doing something" following the Honor Guard's non-attendance Sunday night, but didn't know what exactly until yesterday.
"The swearing-in of the Board of Selectmen is an important event in the life of this community, and if the honor guard isn't going to appear, then we probably don't need to continue having an Honor Guard," Lash said when told of Walters' action.
Walters said he doesn't know whether the Honor Guard will be reformed.
Before he disbanded the group, Walters said, he sought the advice of prosecutors in Stamford to find out whether the union members picketing at the library Sunday night could be arrested for trespassing. Walters said the attorneys found that since the library property is owned by a private nonprofit organization, the union members would need permission from the library's director to demonstrate. The situation never came to a head, as the library director granted that permission.
"The whole thing came down to private property, and if they were ordered to leave, then they would be subject to arrest," Walters said. "We were not going to arrest them.We were trying to ascertain what governed the situation."
Walters then added that the officers could have been arrested "if the library filed a complaint saying we told these people to leave and they did not leave."
Bonney said he wasn't surprised that Walters looked into arresting the union members while they demonstrated.
"We have a hostile relationship with the chief," Bonney said.
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