In January 2006, Capt. Gary Jones, a veteran of the Seekonk Police Department with an unblemished record of service up until this point, had his name and reputation dragged through the mud by some members of the board of selectmen that were seated at that time. I remember watching these "kangaroo courts."

During these meetings, the board considered the validity of charges brought against Capt. Jones by former police chief Vito Scotti.

These charges were the result of a lengthy internal investigation launched by Scotti into a matter that, for the most part, involved Capt. Jones agreeing to run a license plate check on a suspicious vehicle that former selectman Steven Howitt had spotted outside his home.

Ultimately, the board upheld most of Scotti's accusations against Capt. Jones, which included dishonesty, untruthfulness, and an attempt on Jones' part to cover up his conduct during an departmental investigation.

The selectmen also found Capt. Jones guilty of other violations such as "conduct unbecoming an officer." Although Scotti recommended a 15-day suspension without pay and a demotion in rank, the board penalized the captain by imposing a 10-day suspension without pay. Capt. Jones challenged the board's decision and the case eventually wound up in arbitration. On Sept. 21,the arbitrator issued his 40-page final decision on the matter, which overturned the 10-day suspension and ordered that Capt. Jones be reimbursed for his lost pay. It also ordered that the suspension be "removed from his record."

As the arbitrator points out in his decision, Scotti's ability to assess Jones' actions with regard to this matter in a "fair and impartial manner" is doubtful, given that Scotti knew that Howitt disapproved of the renewal of his employment contract and also that Scotti opposed Jones' recent promotion to the rank of captain.

According to the arbitrator, "The dislike Scotti had towards Gary Jones and Steven Howitt was apparent from a review of the transcripts of the investigation."

There are several other factors that the arbitrator cites in his decision to overturn Jones' 10-day suspension.

In essence, he shreds Scotti and the board's arguments to pieces, although he does acknowledge that Jones showed lack of judgment in not making any record or report of Howitt's call regarding a suspicious vehicle.

The point I would like to emphasize is that the selectmen certainly were not oblivious to Scotti's dislike of Jones and Howitt.

Rest assured that they, of all people in the community, are "in the know" when it comes to the conflicts that arise between town employees.

Knowing full well the extent of Scotti's dislike of Jones and Howitt, they should never have taken his wide-scale investigation seriously, let alone his charges.

The arbitrator hits the nail on the head by noting that "(t)he overzealousness of Chief Scotti in pursuing this investigation against Capt. Jones casts real doubts as to the fairness of the investigation and the results reached by the chief and ultimately the selectmen."

It is high time that those selectmen who affirmed Scotti's unfounded accusations apologize profusely for the unwarranted pain and suffering they caused Capt. Jones and his family. JOAN GROURKE resides in Seekonk.