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Politics & Government

Breaking Policy, Lower Merion Plans Public Updates on Allegations of Sexual Assault, Discrimination

Typically, the Board of Commissioners does not comment on personnel issues; both allegations concern the police department.

The Lower Merion Township Board of Commissioners plans to go against its usual practice of not discussing personnel issues concerning two allegations involving the Lower Merion Police Department made at a May 18 board meeting, Board President Liz Rogan said at Wednesday's committee meetings.

The board held two closed-door discussions on the . A woman alleged she had been sexually assaulted by a police officer, who has since been placed on administrative duty, and another police officer claimed discrimination was involved in police-promotion practices.

“The board is taking these allegations very seriously,” Rogan said.

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While the board usually does not publically discuss personnel matters, it will go against that practice , Rogan said.

“We will be providing updates and information in the future,” Rogan said.

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The board then moved onto its Police Committee meeting.  Just as the committee tried to close the Police Committee meeting and move onto the Parks and Recreation Committee, a man stood up and asked that the public be allowed to address the Police Committee about one of the allegations.

Rogan said the public would not normally be allowed to speak since it was not during public comment but she agreed to allow it.

The man deferred the floor to Diana Robertson, a paralegal who said she was speaking on behalf of the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference, including J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the state Conference.  Mondesire sat beside her in the audience.

Robertson spoke about the allegation which was made by Lower Merion Township Police Officer Kerry Godbold.  Godbold, who is black, has accused the police department and the Board of Commissioners of discrimination, concerning promotion practices in the Lower Merion Police Department and questioned why a recent Civil Service list, which would have given him the opportunity for a sergeant promotion, was allowed to expire.

Commissioners said at the May 18 meeting that they could not act on the list because of a new law which puts an expiration date on it, and they were not biased because they did not know Godbold’s race before he came forward.

Robertson said based on the NAACP’s interpretation of the law, the township had a two-year window to promote police officers from the Civil Service list.

When a Patch reporter asked Robertson in an interview to explain her public comment, she said, “They used the bill to say the list had expired and that wasn’t true.”

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