Dispute Over Norwood Police Appointments
On July 11, 1975, a long-standing impasse regarding police staffing reached a critical point as the state Civil Service Commission announced it would request the Attorney General’s office to intervene in a dispute with the town of Norwood.
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At the heart of the conflict are six police officers—Peter J. Borroni, Martin V. D’Giff, Bartley E. King Jr., William J. Murphy, Joseph A. Michienzie, and John J. Wall—who were appointed to the Norwood Police Department in July 1974. These appointments were never recognized as valid by the state, and a termination order issued by the commission last March was ignored by town officials.
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Michael Gardner, executive assistant to the director of the Civil Service Commission, confirmed that the commission will seek records from the Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti’s office to resolve the impasse. The dispute stems from the town’s participation in a legal challenge to state hiring rules, which mandate preferential appointments for eligible Black and Spanish-surnamed candidates. These regulations were established following a 1973 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Charles E. Wyzanski. While Norwood joined 26 other suburban towns in challenging these rules, they lost their most recent court contest in January and have not pursued an appeal.
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Fearing the loss of these officers to other municipalities offering greater job security through official certification, Norwood selectmen recently reversed their policy, voting to make new appointments from state-approved lists to ensure the department remains fully staffed. However, Gardner cautioned that while the town hopes this new strategy will lead to the certification of the six officers, the outcome is far from certain. He emphasized that the commission is bound to enforce both federal court orders and state law, noting that if the official lists do not include these specific officers, the town will be forced to comply with the rules regardless of the potential staff turnover. Gardner explicitly cited Norwood and Milton as the agency’s primary concerns regarding non-compliance in suburban Massachusetts.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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