An internal investigation has concluded that Westbrook police officials did not intentionally conceal the arrest of Fire Inspector Lt. Chuck Jarrett.
On Thursday, Jan. 18, Jarrett was arrested at his Windham residence for removing a loaded weapon from an unlocked Westbrook police vehicle. All criminal charges against Jarrett have been dropped, and the city has reprimanded Police Chief Paul McCarthy for how his department handled the arrest.
The incident did not appear as an arrest in police logs made available to the press on Jan. 20, but instead was listed as a “criminal mischief” complaint at the discretion of McCarthy.
Due to the “sensitive” nature of the arrest, McCarthy authorized his police officers to withhold the arrest call from the dispatch database, or CAD system, so as not to alarm Jarrett of his own arrest.
“In any kind of arrest situation, you don’t want to tip off any person that you would be coming to arrest them,” McCarthy said.
Under the Criminal History Records Information Act, once a person is arrested, their name, offense, date of birth and address all become public record.
However, it is not unusual, McCarthy said, for there to be a delay between the time of arrest and when it appears in the police log.
He attributes part of that delay to “computer trouble” with the interface between the new dispatch CAD system and the “records” database where full police reports are electronically filed.
In addition, the police records secretary had not received the police report needed to modify the “criminal mischief” complaint to a formal arrest charge before a police log was requested 48 hours after the arrest, said City Solicitor William Dale, who conducted the internal investigation.
But Dale doesn’t believe Westbrook police were “trying to hide the ball.”
Because Jarrett is a public safety employee, the “sensitivity” argument is legally defensible, said Dale, but, once an arrest is made, it must be made public record.
Dale noted in his report how a reporter from the American Journal, Charlie Smith, attempted to get a police report of Jarrett’s arrest, but was denied at first juncture.
The investigation alleges Smith called the station and asked for Jarrett’s “arrest report.” Because only “arrest sheets” and not “arrest reports” are made available to the public and the press, the police department denied this request.
Dale did not interview the American Journal as part of his investigation because “it was not necessary,” he said.
The American Journal, however, contests the investigation’s account of events.
Weeks after Jarrett’s arrest and with no release of information to the public, Smith went to the police station to look at past police logs after getting an anonymous tip that Jarrett had been arrested.
He found a “criminal mischief” log entry for Jan. 18 and circled it asking the records secretary if she could retrieve the incident report as is commonly requested with police logs.
The records secretary left to consult with McCarthy privately and then told the reporter that it was a “personnel matter,” denying the request.
The assistant editor of the American Journal, Mike Higgins, met with McCarthy that day to question him on the issue.
McCarthy explained that he had misunderstood the request and thought the reporter was probing for further information beyond what is called an “arrest sheet,” which contains brief details on arrests, but does not go into full detail like “arrest reports.” McCarthy then produced a copy of the “arrest sheet” for Higgins.
Later that day, city administration released a statement concerning Jarrett’s arrest.
Instead of pursuing the “missing” records issue further, the internal investigation recommends that the Westbrook police department engage in practices that would help the public and the press obtain public information in a timelier manner.
Westbrook police will now double the number of days included in weekly police logs made available to the press and public.
When the press viewed police logs the week after Jarrett’s arrest, his arrest was nine days old and therefore didn’t appear in the seven-day log. Providing a two-week police log will “close the gap,” allowing the public to view delayed log entries that may not have appeared in the previous week’s police log.
“There was never any attempt to withhold it from the log,” Chief McCarthy said. “It was just a matter of timing.”
At the direction of city officials, all administrative police personnel will be required to take educational classes on how to handle requests for public information.
“My overriding concern is that we not only comply with the letter of the law, but with the intent of the law,” said City Administrator Jerre Bryant. “Our actions were not consistent with the intent of the law. The whole issue of when the arrest information got posted is confusing. We’ve got to make sure that information is current, accurate and available.”
Douglas Wright is a reporter for The Lakes Region Suburban Weekly, a sister publication of the American Journal.
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