POLICE SERGEANT'S FIRING GOES TO ARBITER

RAYNHAM -- The battle between the town and its first and only woman police
sergeant is now in the hands of an arbitrator.

After a closed-door disciplinary hearing last week, selectmen fired
Sergeant Sally Westcoat for allegedly leaking information to the target of
a drug investigation, handing over confidential sexual assault reports to
her attorney in a civil case, and botching an investigation into a traffic
accident.

Three days after her firing, Westcoat -- who has a gender discrimination
suit pending against the chief and deputy chief in Taunton Superior Court
- -- filed a union grievance against selectmen. An arbitrator will decide,
over the next several months, whether the selectmen had sufficient cause to
fire her.

Westcoat's lawyer says his client will be vindicated when a "neutral
tribunal" considers her side of the story. Meanwhile, the firing will
stand. Westcoat had been on paid administrative leave since late March.

Selectmen offered no comment beyond a written statement that listed three
charges against Westcoat and some accompanying justification for their
disciplinary measures. The town's labor attorney, Jack Collins, said the
board fired Westcoat for knowingly violating department regulations and
breaking the law. "She released some confidential sexual assault records
and intentionally violated the law, and she disclosed the identities of
people in undercover operations," Collins said.

Westcoat's attorney, Jack Canzoneri, said his client "vehemently denies the
charge that she spoke to someone that was the target of a drug
investigation." Canzoneri called testimony on that accusation "double hearsay."

He said Deputy Chief Louis Pacheco testified at the hearing, yet he had
heard of the allegation secondhand. The source of the accusation had been
the target of the drug investigation himself, Canzoneri said, and he was
not present at the hearing. Neither was the person who heard the alleged
drug dealer make the accusation, Canzoneri said.

"Pacheco himself described the [accuser] as a lying, cheating drug dealer,
and the selectmen credited that double hearsay testimony," Canzoneri said.
"[Westcoat's firing] is just an extension of the harassment she has been
experiencing."

Concerning Westcoat's release of confidential sexual assault records,
Canzoneri said those records were submitted to the court to support a
pending civil case she has against the Police Department, and they have
been declared confidential. "The only one who will see them is the
defendant, who is the Police Department," he said.

Westcoat was also accused of poor job performance for failing to properly
oversee subordinates during the handling of a traffic accident on March 5.
"This resulted in an incomplete investigation and failure to determine
which party was responsible and to detect apparent criminal activity," the
selectmen wrote in their statement. For that infraction, the board voted to
demote Westcoat to the rank of police officer.

Westcoat "was a good police officer, but not a good supervisor," Collins
said. "The selectmen had tried some progressive discipline and training
with her, but they concluded, after all those efforts, she still didn't
make it."

Canzoneri argued Westcoat's handling of the accident fell within acceptable
procedures used by superior officers. She hadn't violated any departmental
regulations, he said. Westcoat declined direct comment.

The daughter of Taunton's former police chief David Westcoat, she joined
Raynham's police force in 1994 as the town's first female officer. Westcoat
was promoted to sergeant in 1997 and remained the department's only female
sergeant until she was fired last week.

Police Chief Peter King and Pacheco declined comment on Westcoat because of
the gender discrimination suit pending against them. But Pacheco did
confirm Westcoat had been the subject of "progressive discipline" by the
Police Department as far back as two years ago. She served a suspension two
years ago, Pacheco said, but has an appeal of that punishment that is still
pending.

In her Superior Court complaint alleging gender discrimination, Westcoat
says she was treated differently than male sergeants by both Pacheco and
King. Westcoat said Pacheco used derogatory names when referring to her and
sometimes made demeaning comments. She further claims "unwarranted and
unprecedented" disciplinary measures against her were recommended by
Pacheco and imposed by King after she was promoted to sergeant.

Part-time Police Officer Kelli Hutchings said she has not experienced the
kind of gender discrimination Westcoat describes in her court complaints.
"The treatment is the same for men and women," she said.