ALFRED, N.Y. — "I wish things could go back to the way they were," said Paul Griffith, as he stood on Main Street in the village of Alfred (pop. 4,026) where he has served as a police officer for 26 years, including the last ten as chief of police.
In a community with two colleges, but just one traffic light, Griffith has been a popular fixture among residents.
"I know most of them, and many I would call friends. If they have a problem, they don't call 911, they call my cell phone. These are people that I've sworn to protect and serve," he said.
However, on August 23 Griffith was placed on paid administrative leave by the village board for reasons which he insists he's yet to understand.
Chief baffled by suspension
"I'm not sure what led up to this. Nobody really told me," Griffith told 2 On Your Side on Thursday, as he approached the fourth week of his suspension, with no idea of if or when it might be lifted.
Somewhat guarded in his comments in terms of precisely what he was told, he confirmed the suspension came after he had been placed on a performance improvement plan by the board after he recommended the village hire a new part-time patrolman.
He described the candidate as having been well qualified for the position he sought to hire him for, as a part-time probationary patrolman, who would be under the supervision of a field training officer.
"He spent eight years in the military. He was an MP, and military police. He's got an unblemished record in the military," Griffith said.
The candidate, who is 32, also would have been Alfred's first black police officer.
"I believe he was a good candidate"
"We have a large black community here," said Griffith, noting the presence of Alfred University and Alfred State College, both of which attract a diverse population of students from communities far away.
"I think it would be important for the community see we have a diverse police department...and I thought, and still think, he would be a good candidate," Griffith said.
Griffith's attorney, Maureen Bass of Abrams Fensterman LLP confirms the candidate did get into some trouble as a teenager that got him bounced from a police youth cadet's program in his native Rochester.
"But that was when he was he was much younger and prior to his military service, prior to achieving the rank of sergeant, and certainly prior to completing the police academy," she said. The chief was definitely focused on the last 10 years of this candidate, and what he had done in the military, and how far he had advanced in the military...receiving the rank of Sergeant and being honorably discharged from the military. I think the chief was focused on that, as well as his performance in the first phase of the police academy that he had just about completed.
But the village board decided not to approve the hire, and both Bass and Griffin noted it was the first time, after approving 19 recommendations made by Griffith in his ten years as chief that his recommended candidate was rejected. "In this particular case, a different decision was made," Bass said.
Lawyer: Something is not right
Both stopped short of accusing the village board of racism. But according to Bass, board members accused the chief of using "poor judgment" by presenting a candidate who opened them up to a racial discrimination suit if they didn't hire him.
"The limited follow-up communications that were had with the chief after the fact centered around the fact that the village felt that they were being exposed to a lawsuit and that the chief perhaps should never have brought that candidate to its attention to be considered for hired," she said.
In addition, according to both, prior to being suspended Griffith had been presented with a two-page "performance improvement plan," which required him to patrol for three hours a day while still being chief, and take several other steps to "rebuild confidence" with village officials.
"What would be the standard for the measurement of whether that happened?" asked Bass, who added placing such performance improvement plans on individuals without any objective goals or standards is often "a precursor to more serious discipline being taken against someone up to and including termination."
Furthermore, Bass contends that putting a police chief on leave is a step usually reserved for allegations of serious misconduct or malfeasance.
"You do not see, in an ordinary course, a chief of police being treated this way for merely proposing a candidate and making his recommendation," said Bass. "It's wrong, it's illegal, it's immoral, and it's improper to punish a management level employee for bringing a diversity candidate in to be considered to be hired by a village. That should have never happened in this case and in this situation and it's outrageous."
Village Officials not talking
There is, of course, another side to the story. And there could be more involved in the board's decision to place Chief Griffith on leave.
However, Alfred Mayor Jim Ninos politely declined comment on the advice of the village attorney because this involves a personnel matter.
In a statement to 2 On Your Side, he did not even acknowledge Griffith by name in writing, "The Village is conducting an investigation into a personnel matter. To protect the privacy of the individual involved and maintain the integrity of the investigation, we cannot comment on personnel issues at this time. We can confirm that one staff member is currently on paid administrative leave. No Village staff members have been terminated."
Overwhelmed by support
Meanwhile, Griffith is grateful for community members, several of whom stopped to offer support during our interview on Main Street and several more who packed a recent village board meeting.
"I was extremely grateful for these people coming out and supporting me. It was overwhelming...I can't thank them enough and it actually choked me up quite a bit," he said.