Chief Bongiorno will continue assigning police to local details
Published on October 8th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA -Stoneham Police Chief Richard Bongiorno will not authorize the use of civilian flagmen for local details, but he vowed to prevent any protesters from impeding work on state projects where flaggers are used.
According to the police chief, he is a staunch advocate of using uniformed officers at construction sites and will continue to use patrolman to direct and reroute traffic in such work zones.
Bongiorno has serious reservations about the use of flagmen, as he believes that they lack the necessary familiarity with the flow of traffic in Stoneham's neighborhoods.
"We know what is best for Stoneham better than a contractor from somewhere in the western part of the state who has a state contract," the police chief said. "They're only concerned about doing the work in their immediate work zone."
Under new rules endorsed by Governor Deval Patrick, civilian flagmen can be used for state roadway and construction projects.
The administration's new rules set up a three-tiered system for classifying work sites. Roads with speed limits of less than 45 miles per hour are the most likely to have civilian flaggers assigned to them.
"We have to abide by the change in law," Bongiorno said. "So any state-funded construction project will have civilian flaggers. We will have Stoneham Police doing [our] details. I'm an advocate of that, having Stoneham officers on our roadways moving pedestrians and traffic."
Yesterday, dozens of protesters disrupted Mass Highway crews who were cleaning catch basins in Woburn while civilian flagmen directed traffic.
Ultimately, Woburn Police Chief Philip Mahoney had to order the 50 or so protesters - many of whom were off-duty officers from the area - to stay out of the way of the work crews.
According to Bongiorno, he has already issued a memo warning Stoneham's police force against engaging in similar behavior.
"We will not do anything to impede or interrupt work where flaggers are. We have to be impartial," the police chief said. "I absolutely will defend any citizen's right to peacefully assemble. But we'll also protect flaggers doing work on state projects."
Reached on Wednesday morning, Town Administrator David Ragucci voiced his support for the use of civilian flagmen on local projects.
According to Ragucci, the new rules would result in a net savings for the town, which spent $60,000 on police details last year. Ultimately, the authority to assign patrolmen to local details rests with Bongiorno.
The Town Administrator did stipulate that he supports the use of uniformed officers for any detail required on heavily trafficked roadways.
"If it's a heavily traveled road, like Route 28, yeah, we're going to say we need a police detail," said Ragucci. "We spent last year $60,000 on police details for the town. If we used flagmen, a portion of that could have been saved."
According to Bongiorno, while he and the town administrator have a difference of opinion over the use of civilian flaggers, he will consult with Ragucci in order to identify ways to save on detail costs by using signage to reroute vehicles at work sites with low traffic volumes.
While the police chief admits that the town could save some money through the use of flagmen, he believes that the monetary benefits are being overestimated by proponents of the governor's new rules.
By his estimates, flagmen in the Boston area will be paid approximately $6 an hour less than law enforcement officers working details.
"We being in the Boston region, the prevailing wage is not dramatically less than what a detail officer earns," said the police chief. "The potential loss of having a trained officer on the street who can take action in other ways far outweighs those minimal savings."
According to Bongiorno, he can recall numerous occasions when local police working details were able to bolster the town's response to emergency events across Stoneham.
The police chief specifically referred to an oil spill along Main Street last May, when an oil tanker overturned just before dismissal time at the nearby Middle School.
During that incident, multiple detail officers were able to respond to the spill site to control and detour traffic.
Bongiorno also argues that officers working detail assignments have likely averted many other crimes just by being visible on local streets.
"Time and time again, we have had police detail officers respond to critical emergencies. Without our detail officers being on our roadways and being able to assist, we would not have been able to handle that situation," said Bongiorno of the gasoline spill nearby Main and Williams Street.
"It is very difficult to gage a non-event. If we can stop a robbery or house break because an officer is in the area, we don't know that," the chief added.
(Material from the Associated Press was used in this report)
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