Marblehead police stung by Castner case report

MARBLEHEAD – A 37-page professional review of the Marblehead Police Department says that townspeople think their police department “lacks focus, is sometimes unprofessional and insensitive to ?the Marblehead community” – and the report criticizes Police Chief Robert Picariello for “a serious lapse in judgment” for not checking in with police at the scene of the Allie Castner traffic fatality, the accident that prompted the review.The consultant recommended giving Chief Picariello nine months to develop a strategic plan, become a “24-7 police leader” and establish ethical standards and a fair disciplinary system. The report also recommends removing future chiefs from Civil Service, so the town can recruit outside the department.Selectmen postponed their discussion of the report until Dec. 8, when their meeting will be televised, but Selectman William Woodfin said, “I think the town expects us to take direct control (of this report and its recommendations).” He said selectmen will “set a pathway” for doing that in December. Selectman Judy Jacobi said she was glad that all the board members were a part of the Strategic Policy Partnership review.In the interim Selectmen Chairman James Nye will formulate some proposals for four board members to consider – Selectman Mike Rockett, a relative of Allie Castner, has recused himself from that process. The proposals may include an implementation committee, suggested by Selectman Jackie Belf-Becker.Local resident Will Gallien was angered by the committee proposal. “What are you there for,” he asked the board members, “if not to take this $25,000 report and run with it? You’re letting somebody else do your job.””We’re asking for help, that’s all,” Nye told him, pointing out that board members are unfamiliar with police procedures.Asked for his comments after the meeting, Chief Picariello took the high road. “I accept their criticism,” he said of the alleged lapse in judgment. “If I could do it over again I would do it differently.”He added that he does not agree with all the review’s perceptions and conclusions about his department and his leadership. “Just because they say something doesn’t mean it’s true,” he said.Overall the chief called the recommendations “a road map to success” and said he looked forward to working on them with the board.Allie Castner’s uncle, Peter Babine, said the Castner family did not expect “perfection or miracles in this investigation. Mistakes happen ?but how those mistakes are dealt with embody the integrity of one’s character.” He questioned whether “the expected level of transparency and honesty (was) traded for misinformation, half-truths, and outright lies.”He blamed “quotes and excuses by specific members of this police force, and refusal of any accountability to these mistakes” for making the chain of events “more inflammatory.””We value the integrity of the selectmen and town administrator in not turning away from these issues, but validating them, as shown by this report noting the lack of transparency and leadership within this investigation,” he said.According to published reports, the driver in the accident where Castner died, Thomas Larivee, 20, of 4 Sunset Rd., Salem, was arrested on Halloween in the area of UMass-Amherst on charges of disorderly conduct and malicious destruction to a motor vehicle.