Lowell Sun Editorial: Officer Wagner should move on

Suspension was justified

The Lowell Sun

Dracut police Officer Leonard Wagner had a blemish-free record until an incident in 2003 that resulted in his being handed a 35-day unpaid suspension.

Now Wagner is suing the town of Dracut and its Police Department to negate the suspension and repair the damage to his professional reputation. We understand his desire to have a clean record along with the 35 days of lost pay, but Wagner should drop this lawsuit.

The incident resulting in Wagner’s suspension included a number of mistakes that ended with a man getting carjacked and shot in the face. That’s not a minor incident.

Plus, Wagner already appealed the suspension to the Civil Service Commission, which rejected it on a 3-2 vote in December. The commission noted that Wagner did not follow proper policy by instructing a backup officer to remain in his cruiser while he went inside to remove Daniel Labbe from a Dracut home. Wagner later radioed the backup officer, telling him he could leave the scene, which is also against policy. Wagner then failed to check the contents of a bag Labbe packed and neglected to pat Labbe down for weapons before giving him a ride to Lowell.Not long after being dropped off in Lowell, Labbe, who has a history of mental illness and a criminal record, shot a man in the face and stole his car. Police believe Labbe tucked the gun into his bag at his house while Wagner waited in another room.

Again, we realize this incident was an aberration for Wagner, who is a 19-year police veteran. However, an innocent man was seriously injured because of Wagner’s missteps. That cannot — and must not — be wiped from his record.

It is fortunate that the victim, a Methuen man, recovered, but he should never have suffered such a grievous injury.

Wagner should acknowledge that he made mistakes that day. He has already served his 35-day suspension for violating department policy. His appeal to the Civil Service Commission was rejected. In fact, Administrative Magistrate Joan Freiman Fink wrote that in addition to violating policy, Wagner “also endangered the life and well-being of innocent people.”

Wagner should be thankful that no one was killed, accept this as a lesson well-learned and drop his lawsuit against the town.