Recent misconduct, chronicled in print and video, that has alleged to have taken place in neighboring Mountainside’s police department, draws attention to police policing police.
The Fact of The Matter has obtained information over the years of pervasive and systemic misconduct in the Westfield Police Department.
In 2009 and 2010, concerns were made known to Mayor Andy Skibitsky and Town Attorney Robert Cochran regarding the selection process for police chief and what would happen if Westfield promoted David Wayman to police chief. Those warnings were ignored.
In 2012, after obtaining a classified confidential memo from then Police Chief John Parizeau’s desk and posting it here at TFoTM, town officials were not happy. TFoTM received a subpoena from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office mandating an appearance before a grand jury to answer questions on how this blog site obtains such information. The ACLU stepped in to represent The Fact of The Matter (pro bono) and had the subpoena “quashed”....thrown out.....withdrawn. TFoTM was recognized as a news source and protected under the New Jersey Shield Law that protects reporters from revealing their source(s) of information.
When the Fact of The Matter presented evidence to the Union County Prosecutor, that a crime had been committed by members of the Westfield Police Department, the UCPO detectives assigned to the case were more interested in how TFoTM got its hands on then Westfield Police Chief John Parizeau’s memo detailing theft of time by superior officers. UCPO detectives Ed Koenig and James Tansey were assigned to the investigation. When TFoTM was interviewed by these two detectives, they were more interested in knowing who gave TFoTM the confidential memo. Ultimately, Westfield Chief John Parizeau and his predecessor, the disgraced Barney Tracy, were not held accountable for their failure to administer disciplinary action against superior officers in the Westfield Police Dept. for theft of time. Westfield Detective Sergeant John Rowe, an alleged suspect in the thefts, and personal friend to Tracy and Parizeau, was not charged with any crime, or at least a departmental infraction, by the UCPO.
While the Union County Prosecutors Office currently investigates Westfield Police Chief David Wayman’s role in the “hit and run” accident that occurred in a secured police lot on town property, many question whether or not the UCPO can be trusted to do a thorough investigation without covering up the alleged misconduct perpetrated by WPD Chief Wayman. (See previous stories on Wayman’s alleged coverup of accident.)
The mere fact that Westfield Det. Lt. Leo Lugo submitted a one line investigation report on the hit and run accident proves that no investigation took place at the local Westfield PD level.
Now it’s the Union County Prosecutors turn to investigate.
Maybe the state AG's office needs to step in?
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