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The investigation of a suspended Fredonia police officer continues, while members of the public seek more information.
Resident Katie Lovley spoke at the Fredonia Village Board meeting Tuesday, expressing concerns if the officer, who has not been named publicly, will be properly investigated.
"I’m here tonight because I have some serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and public trust in our village government. When someone takes an oath to protect and serve their community, that oath should mean something. And when allegations arise involving somebody entrusted with that responsibility, the community deserves to know that those concerns are being handled fairly and independently," she said. "I have attended the previous board meeting hoping to hear some acknowledgment of the matter that has raised public concern that has spread like wildfire in our community. Very little was said and looking at tonight’s agenda, I once again see no indication that the matter will be addressed. So naturally, I have questions. The town has questions. We all have questions in this community. Is a matter still being investigated? Has a determination already been made? If so, what information about the determination can legally be shared with the community?"
Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson said nothing could be shared because the investigation is ongoing. "We assure you that if and when that time comes to an end the findings will be revealed, but right now both attorneys have asked that not be spoken about to the public," he said.
In September, Fredonia Police Chief Gregory Myers received permission from the village board to pursue disciplinary action against one of his employees.
The village has hired Brian Doyle as a hearing officer. The state's Civil Service Law authorizes the village board to designate a hearing officer to conduct a hearing on the disciplinary charges.
The officer suspension was also noted by Patrick Prawel-Sexton in a letter to the village board, when he called on the removal of Flock cameras in the community.
"Regarding the current investigation of one of our own police officers in Fredonia, although I am incredibly grateful for the services Chief Myers and our individual officers, I find it incredibly ironic that the danger our community DA (District Attorney Jason Schmidt) was spouting when supporting Flock cameras came from the inside the house allegedly. I appreciate the chief in the village looking into these allegations further, but I feel I need to comment on how the dangers of Flock cameras do not always come from the villagers or visitors to our village," Prawel-Sexton wrote. "How can any of you still support the current Flock cameras or any future cameras such as Motorola when the biggest threat to our village for the past decade or so came from someone we were paying from our own taxes allegedly? The threat is not to our average citizen. We do not need to be monitored. We do deserve to have our rights preserved and respected by village officials. I urge you to ban all flock cameras and future cameras of the like from our village."
A number of local residents and even some elected officials have called on Schmidt to end the contract it has with Flock, which uses license plate readers.
Schmidt has said that only four members of his department have access to the data collected by Flock Safety, so not even Fredonia police can review recorded footage without his approval.
Flock Safety has also stated in writing that it will not sell data collected and will only share the information with police agencies if directed to do so by the district attorney.