Wayland HRDEI committee urges Select Board to skip police chief search

WAYLAND — June 20, 2023 — Wayland's HRDEI committee voted 8-0 to urge the Select Board to make Acting Police Chief Ed Berman permanent without a national search. Vice Chair Karen Blumenfeld and member Mayling Ellerman were tasked with finalizing the letter, which argues Berman's roughly 14 months in the role and his response to the committee's 14-point reform list constitute sufficient vetting; Blumenfeld said a new search "would break morale within the police force." The committee also heard from Derek Dean of the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service on the SPIRIT dialogue program, and tapped members Janot Mendler de Suarez and Chloe Voigt to plan a fall convening with Assistant Town Manager John Bugbee as town liaison. Organizers reported the May multicultural festival drew over 800 people on a budget built from a $2,500 Massachusetts Cultural Council grant, $1,000 from the Wayland Cultural Council and about $6,500 in fundraising. Chair Yamini Ranjan, Blumenfeld and clerk Jessica were re-elected 8-0.

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WAYLAND — The Human Rights, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee voted Tuesday to send the Select Board a letter recommending that Acting Police Chief Ed Berman be appointed permanent chief without a national search, and authorized two members to plan a federally facilitated community dialogue for the fall.

The committee, meeting June 20 with Vice Chair Karen Blumenfeld in the chair's seat, also re-elected its slate of officers, approved two sets of minutes and debriefed a multicultural festival that organizers said drew more than 800 people in May.

On a unanimous 8-0 vote, members directed Blumenfeld and Mayling Ellerman to tighten a draft letter urging the Select Board to make Berman's appointment permanent rather than hire a search firm. Blumenfeld said the town manager has signaled a preference for a full search, but argued that Berman, who has served in an acting capacity for roughly 14 months, has already been vetted through his record.

"It would break morale within the police force, and there would be a loss of continuity," Blumenfeld said of a new search, adding that the cost of a search firm "is not insignificant."

Janot Mendler de Suarez urged that the letter argue more forcefully that Berman has responded to each item on the committee's earlier 14-point list of recommendations to the Select Board. Chair Yamini Ranjan said Berman has filled what she called a communication gap between the department and residents, and praised his handling of new recruits at a recent committee visit to the station. Yawu Tang asked that softer wording be considered around describing the prior state of the department as a "crisis," noting uncertainty about the politics surrounding the previous chief, who was placed on administrative leave after being hired through a search process.

The committee then heard a presentation from Derek Dean of the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service on the agency's SPIRIT program, a six-to-seven-hour structured dialogue that convenes stakeholder groups — law enforcement, educators, youth, faith leaders, health care workers and others — to identify community priorities and form an action council that commits to 12 to 18 months of follow-up work.

Blumenfeld framed the program as a response to recent tensions in town. "This could be a way to start bringing people together," she said, citing "some really terrible stuff happening in this community over the past six months."

Members Mendler de Suarez and Chloe Voigt, attending her first meeting, volunteered to serve as the committee's two representatives on a planning group, with Assistant Town Manager John Bugbee acting as town liaison. Dean said planning should begin no later than late July or early August for a fall event.

In officer elections, members voted 8-0 to retain Ranjan as chair, Blumenfeld as vice chair and the absent Jessica as clerk. Ranjan said she would lean on Blumenfeld to lead summer meetings as she manages a recent move and other commitments. Blumenfeld said she had considered stepping into the chair's role but raised concerns about "the optics of having a white person as the chair" of a human rights committee.

Reviewing the May multicultural festival, Mendler de Suarez and Tang reported the event was financed with a $2,500 Massachusetts Cultural Council grant, $1,000 from the Wayland Cultural Council and roughly $6,500 in additional fundraising. A renewed MCC grant application has been submitted for 2024. Organizers said they intend to start planning earlier next year and to engage the Boston Parents Council and METCO families from the outset.

The committee plans to hold an in-person August meeting and will seek legal counsel on whether a third member may join the festival planning group without triggering open-meeting concerns.