By Paul Bean
A controversial public comment made by a Northfield resident at a town selectboard about the police chief meeting prompted a visit from the Director of Outreach and Education for the Vermont State Office of Racial Equity at Northfield’s selectboard meeting Tuesday, April 22.
Shalini Suryanarayana, Director of Outreach and Education for the Office of Racial Equity, visit to Northfield’s selectboard meeting was prompted by a comment made by Lynn Doney, a Northfield resident at a selectboard meeting April 8 during the time for public input. Doney questioned the selectboard on whether or not the town’s police chief was supposed to be wearing his uniform on the job saying, “Why isn’t he wearing it so he looks like a police chief and not a gangster off the street that’s just driving our cruisers around?” (Read Doney’s full comment below).
This comment received backlash in the community as many residents came out in support of the Northfield Police Chief, Pierre J. Gomez, who was hired in August 2023, who has 20 plus years of experience and law enforcement in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
“At the April 8 Select Board meeting, a community member publicly made accusations against the Chief that appeared to be racially motivated,” wrote a resident in a post made in the Northfield Facebook group. “You can view this moment in the final 20 minutes of that meeting available on YouTube. Watching it makes it clear why showing up on April 22 is so important.”
Northfield’s Selectbord meeting Tuesday April 22 drew a packed room of 60 people at Brown Public Library in response to Doney’s comment about Gomez and The Office of Racial Equity’s visit. “The town of Northfield is committed to non-prejudiced treatment in the workplace. Accountability demands we investigate, identify, and eliminate hatred and bigotry where they exist,” said Selectman Charlie Morse to open the meeting, introducing Suryanarayana.
“I know that something everyone is trying to do is listen with grace – make sure people get an opportunity to be heard. ” said Shalini Suryanarayana, Director of Outreach and Education for Vermont’s office of Racial Equity. The Office of Racial Equity’s website says Suryanarayana’s job is to “interact with residents, visitors, press, other sectors of government, and builds training curricula. She also liaises with communities around the state and helps state and local leaders apply an equity lens to their work through education and close communication.”
Suryanarayana gave a 45 minute presentation on DEI, strategies, and incentives for towns to implement DEI programing. Below is an excerpt from her presentation. (You can watch the entire presentation starting at 33:01-1:11:40).
Suryanarayana: “I will tell you in my field, the experts, the subject matter experts and practitioners will never tell you if you study this much you’ll be done. You know how sometimes you’ll get a degree and once you’re done you’ve got the diploma and you don’t ever have to take another class in that subject again. Unless you’re something like a doctor who has to take those board exams again or something like that… But most of us, I was in mechanical engineering, most of us don’t ever have to take another engineering class thank goodness so why in DEI are we saying that it is never… you’re not going to be done?”
Northfield Resident: “Because humans change?…Because humans never stay the same?”
Suryanarayana: “That is true but that’s true for every field that we study. People are always changing.. So the answer in our field, what many of us believe is that we will be able to stop worrying about doing DEI trainings and education, and learning and thinking about when we reach a state of equity. And by that I mean when we get to that point in time when you can no longer use something about a person’s identity to predict an outcome…”
Lynn Doney’s full exchange with the Selecetbord at the April 8 Northfield selectboard meeting, where Doney is accused of making a racially motivated comment.
Lynn Doney: “Do we buy the police chief uniforms? Then do we buy him a jacket? Why have I seen him and I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen him driving our police cruisers around with a hoodie? I’ve seen him coming out of the municipal building supposedly working because he’s got his gun on and he’s got a badge on a chain around his neck hanging out on his neck. Is he working for us or what’s he supposed to be doing? Because if he’s going to be a police chief and we’ve spent and I know when I was in those uniforms and all that gun apparel and everything else you get into thousands of dollars of that. Why isn’t he wearing it so he looks like a police chief and not a gangster off the street that’s just driving our cruisers around?”
Merry Sherock: “I’m sorry I don’t think he looks like a gangster and I’ve seen him several times.”
Lynn Doney: “How many times have you seen him in the cruiser with the hoodie on?”
Merry Shernock: “Lots.”
Lynn Doney: “Well he shouldn’t be If we’re going to buy a police chief uniform.
Why? Because he’s a police chief.”
Merry Shernock: “Lots of times police officers wear gray flannel jackets.”
Lynn Doney: “Not your police chief.”
Merry Shernock: “Yeah lots of times.”
Charlie Morse: “Yeah, well he does”.
Lynn Doney: “Well I haven’t seen any and I’ve been around a lot of police officers before and a lot of police chiefs and I haven’t seen him in a police cruiser driving around with a gray hoodie with a badge on a tag hanging down on your chest.”
At the end of the presentation, the selectboard thanked Suryanarayana for her presentation and her time. The selectboard did not say whether they will discuss the matter further.