(From WBOC.com)
ACLU Files Second Complaint Against Pocomoke City
Posted: Aug 20, 2015 8:40 PM EDTPOCOMOKE CITY, Md. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland has filed a second complaint in a month against Pocomoke City officials for violations of the Maryland Open Meetings Act (MOMA).
The latest complaint concerns unannounced, closed meetings held by Town Officials in late June, during which the decision was made to fire Pocomoke’s former Police Chief, Kelvin Sewell. The complaint was filed with the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board on behalf of Stephen Janis, a reporter for The Real News Network, a Baltimore-based non-profit news organization.
As with the ACLU’s first complaint, which pertained to the media being barred from a Pocomoke Council meeting on July 13, this complaint again relates to Pocomoke City’s controversial firing of Sewell. At the time of the firing, no explanation was given for the town’s action, and many in the community were angry and upset. Pocomoke officials have so far remained silent about the process and basis upon which they arrived at their decision to terminate Chief Sewell.
17 comments:
What a complete waste of time. If the media was barred from the July 13th council meeting how come they not only reported on it, but quoted some of what was said during the meeting.
As far as the advance notice not given for the closed session it was an emergency meeting and not a part of a regular meeting which does require advanced notice.
Baltimore did the same thing when police commissioner Batts was let go and Ocean City when the city manager was let go.
I watched the video from Real News Network, whoever they are, and have a few takeaways:
1) The reporterette does not know the difference between Worcester and Worchester.
2) One of their staff (It is a very small staff) helped Mr. Sewell write his book and therefore probably has a bias in this affair.
3) Anyone who would place trust in Jonathan Taylor is not real bright.
4) Diane Downing is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Your friend,
Slim
I viewed the video and it puts Sewell in a bad position. If his legal representation approved the video being released Sewell needs to immediately fire them.
Diane Downing was being honest and honest to the point of it putting Sewell in a sinister light. A police chief should not ever be involved in making anon phone calls esp in relation to his job. It's unprofessional at best and unethical at it's worst and this is not a debatable point. It's wrong and should not be tolerated regardless of the content.
Though heavily edited, Diane Downing is putting the cause of Sewell's termination as an anon phone call he placed in regards to a drug investigation in direct conflict of his own reason-he wouldn't fire 2 officers.
Diane justifies her No to termination vote by saying Sewell told them exactly what he said and it corresponds with the tape of the phone call.
This goes to Slim's #2 point and I challenge Mr Janis to release the whole unedited version of the interview w/Diane Downing.
"Pocomoke officials have so far remained silent about the process and basis upon which they arrived at their decision to terminate Chief Sewell."
WBOC needs to get on the ball. Diane Downing who happens to be a Pocomoke official has most certainly said (on tape even) the process and the basis upon which it was arrived at the decision to terminate Chief Sewell. According to Downing it was because of a phone call someone had taped of Sewell trying to be anonymous and about a drug raid back in March.
Slim said-"3) Anyone who would place trust in Jonathan Taylor is not real bright."
Yes it can be concluded that some real ignoramuses frequent the LES site. The comment below is indicative of the mentality of the viewers. By no one's stretch of the imagination did the interview put anyone other than Sewell in a bad light. Why is Sewell making anon calls in regards to a drug bust and to whom did he make the call and what did he say during the call.
Snipped from LES News
" Anonymous said...
This interview is very disturbing and certainly does not reflect well on the mayor and council. It appears they were on a witch hunt trying to find some reason to let Sewell go.
August 21, 2015 at 7:36 AM"
"2) One of their staff (It is a very small staff) helped Mr. Sewell write his book and therefore probably has a bias in this affair"
I don't see it as him being bias, Slim. If he were he would never have deviated from the narrative that Sewell was fired because he refused to fire the 2 black officers. This is one of those....... with friends like this guy Janis, Sewell needs no enemies....... type of thing.
Janis is a dunce and lacks honesty and integrity just like the rest of them so he fits right in. He's with his own kind and it's no wonder he's stuck working for some obscure internet site who can only find sources such as the semi illiterate Jonathan Taylor.
The heading at the beginning of his video proclaims unequivocally that the meeting was "illegal." This is an out and out lie since no ruling body has made that determination. At this point in time, it is only an accusation.
That site is not trustworthy so therefore it would be in everyone's best interest to take what ever is said on there with a grain of salt.
Diane Downing on the interview gave no reasons as to why she felt pressured by the mayor or whoever to vote to fire Sewell. I have a really hard time believing that she felt pressured since they didn't need her vote anyway.
What is also hard to believe is that she thinks it's perfectly okay for the chief of police to be making anon phone calls in his capacity as chief and as it relates to an investigation.
Oh Diane felt pressure alright but it certainly was not from the mayor or other council members or the city attorney. She knew if she voted to terminate Sewell she would feel pressure from her constituents.
Diane honey I,unlike your constituents wasn't born yesterday and ain't no body pulling the wool over my eyes. I can see right through you.
I will comment here since I know JT won't approve what I am about to say. Some are saying the media was barred from the July council meeting but the Real News Network shows clips from that meeting so it is not true that the media was barred.
"Diane Downing is not the sharpest knife in the drawer."
I disagree but will say after reading the minutes of the July council meeting she is showing that she has some very major character flaws. She is not honest. She contracts herself on some very important points at the meeting. At one point she claims to not know what the concerns were about Sewell but then goes on to say there was "no justification" for his termination. If there was no justification in her opinion then she knew the concerns but didn't think termination was justified by those concerns.
That woman needs to immediately drop to her knees, repent and beg God for forgiveness and get back to Him in a real way and stop surrounding herself with the evilness of these fake so called men of God!
I want to know more about the anonymous telephone call Sewell made.
The story gets more bizarre the more that comes out.
isn't the recording available to news media via public information? especially since Councilman Downing mentioned it in her interview? I am sure someone has a copy that could be shared. She is gonna end up out on her own if she keeps going. sewell will drop her when he is done and she be like "what just happened"
In the interview she said the phone call had something to do with CET (Criminal enforcement team?) and the March raid. I don't know anything about a March raid and wasn't able to find anything online.
Diane Downing works for the county commissioners. I think she needs fired from there for reveling what was said in a private meeting on a personnel issue for the city. If she can't keep her mouth shut concerning an investigation that the city is doing what's to say she isn't telling all on the commissioners she does not like.
Her real reason for protecting sewell is of her personal feelings for him. I just wish someone would revel the picture of him and her in the police car that right there would do them both in.
I don't think the interview she did protected Sewell in any way. It made it way worse for Sewell. If anything she portrayed him as some kind of shady police chief who runs around making anon calls about law enforcement business while Sewell wants everyone to believe it's because some PC officials are racist.
She did bring up racism but if she's linking the anon phone call to racism then she is mentally and intellectually challenged and yes probably shouldn't be working for the county commissioners.
The fact for whatever reason that she did feel compelled to do that interview esp to such a fly by night site that is not only slanted but no one locally hardly even knows about shows she lacks any sense of good judgement too.
If they weren't barred from the meeting why did the Mayor apologize to them for not letting the media in??? Only question that needs to be ask!!Guilty!
2:56 I don't know why the mayor apologized because by asking the media to leave. he did the right and honorable thing and he shouldn't have apologized. The media would have only played a 2 or 3 minute piece on this and 30 seconds of soundbite from the actual meeting itself. By asking the media to leave so more of the residents can have a first view seat and hear the entire meeting was the right thing to do. He was looking out for the people who this matters to.
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