Regarding Commissioner Montagnino’s report on the Darryl Mount incident and the media coverage that followed, I make the following observations:
First and most importantly, the Commissioner’s determination that Darryl could not have been assaulted by police officers in the early morning hours of August 31, 2013 is consistent with the report that we made available to our community in June, 2014. Unfortunately, the Commissioner fails to even acknowledge our 2014 report which was supported by reams of documentation. He falsely claimed that he produced the only report ever issued on this incident.
Despite claims to the contrary, the incident was thoroughly investigated. There was the required criminal investigation of the assault on Darryl’s girlfriend which was captured on surveillance cameras. There was a comprehensive investigation of what occurred during and after the pursuit which was necessary in order to counter groundless claims of police brutality by local blogger John Tighe. There was also the investigation by the City’s liability insurance carrier as part of their determination to defend against a baseless lawsuit.
A separate Internal Affairs Investigation was not required since the only witness claiming police misconduct was immediately shown to be lying. She later recanted. Had a separate Internal Affairs Investigation been conducted, it would have been identified as such and the specifics and ultimate findings would have been made known in a timely manner.
Chief Greg Veitch has been unfairly maligned by Commissioner Montagnino and by the media in general. Greg never purposely deceived anyone about the facts surrounding the assault committed by Darryl and the subsequent pursuit. Confusion over terms used to describe the comprehensive investigation never constituted deceit or deception.
After reading the Commissioner Montagnino’s report, I welcome the City Council’s request for another investigation, this time by the Attorney General. Unlike the Commissioner, the AG will actually speak to those of us who know what occurred and how information was handled. An objective analysis is needed to finally provide closure for all.
