Named and Shamed
On January 9, 2023, Amy Coveno of WMUR published a story Manchester police chief blasts Londonderry officers who dropped homeless man off in Queen City. RobbiLeaks initial reaction was “here we go again, the media sensationalizing a non-event.”
RobbiLeaks had an entirely different reaction after watching the video and reading the attached story. Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg might have exercised some poor judgement in his rush to “alert the media.” And if he doesn’t regret his actions and quotes ……he should. “Same team, brother.”
Chief Aldenberg, according to Coveno’s article, is sending a message to police departments in other parts of New Hampshire: Stop Sending homeless people to the Queen City.
Coveno’s article goes on to report Chief Aldenberg’s “strong words” came after Londonderry police dropped a man off in Manchester on January 7, 2023, who had nowhere to go. The article states that Chief Aldenberg said he was “candid” with Londonderry Police Chief Kim Bernard, “about dumping the stranded young man over the weekend.”
Chief Aldenberg states “211 wasn’t called” and “if there are police departments that are not aware of 211 in the midst of this homelessness statewide crisis, quite frankly, they’re negligent.”
Coveno did contact Chief Bernard, who “declined an interview with News, but in a statement, he referred to the incident as a courtesy ride to help a traveler short on cash.”
Chief Aldenberg’s desire for spotlight attention didn’t end here. On February 1, 2023, NHPR published an article written by Damien Fisher, Londonderry Cops Dump Homeless in Manchester. “Manchester has become ground zero for the homeless problem,” Police Chief Allen Aldenberg told WFEA radio host Drew Cline on Wednesday.
According to Fisher’s article, “Last month, Aldenberg witnessed officers from Londonderry bringing a homeless man to the city and leaving him outside a shelter.” The article quotes Chief Aldenberg, “it’s bad enough when other states do it to me, but when a neighboring community is doing it to me it’s even worse.”
The article goes on to state that neither Chief Bernard, nor Londonderry Town Manager Michael Malaguti responded to the request for comment. A Manchester Police spokeswoman Heather Hamel is quoted in the article. “The shelter had not been contacted prior to the officer’s arrival, and the officer did not go inside.” Hamel reported that Chief Aldenberg and Chief Bernard have since spoken, and the two chiefs now have a good working relationship. “The two chiefs spoke. All is good.”
According to the article, Hamel went on to say that Chief Aldenberg is putting other communities and their law enforcement agencies on alert. Continue to dump your problem on Manchester, and you will get “named and shamed.”
Woah, slow your roll, Chief. RobbiLeaks has been around long enough to know, there is much more to the story, so RobbiLeaks sent a 91-A request to Londonderry PD (See #receipts).
RobbiLeaks was able to obtain quite a bit of information from Londonderry PD, to include the full statement Chief Bernard sent to WMUR, the dispatch log, notes, and recordings, which include a phone call that Chief Aldenberg made to Londonderry PD…… You guessed it, on a recorded line. (See #receipts).
Before RobbiLeaks “names and shames” Chief Aldenberg for failing to display any semblance of professionalism, allow us to enlighten all on what really happened, which either was too inconvenient or difficult for Coveno to find.
On January 7, 2023, Londonderry police officers were flagged down by a clerk at the Sleep Inn, located at 72 Perkins Rd. in Londonderry. The officers were informed, a 20-year-old male subject, who had been traveling with a companion, was dropped off in Derry by said companion. When Derry PD encountered the 20-year-old subject, they gave him a courtesy ride to the nearest hotel. The clerk at the Sleep Inn advised the Londonderry police officers, due to hotel policy, they were unable to rent a room to the individual, because he didn’t have a photo ID.
The Londonderry police officers then called around to other hotels, who all cited the same policy. The subject was not under arrest, was not detained, was not causing a problem at the hotel or with the police officers. Oh, and he was not homeless, in fact, he had a bus ticket to return to his home in New York for the following day. The subject was merely looking for a place to stay overnight. Due to the cold weather, one of the Londonderry police officers suggested the shelter located at 199 Manchester St., Manchester, NH. The subject then requested and received a courtesy ride to the shelter.
Upon arrival, the Londonderry police officer was greeted by a Manchester police officer, who was assigned to an extra duty detail at the shelter. The Manchester police officer asked the Londonderry police officer if he had called the shelter. The Londonderry police officer acknowledged that he hadn’t and apologized for not being aware of the protocol. The Manchester police officer told the Londonderry police officer that he would “take it from here.”
But wait…..there is more. Manchester PD has a standing order, requiring Manchester police officers to contact Chief Aldenberg when this type of scenario occurs. The Manchester police officer at the shelter followed that order, which led to Chief Aldenberg calling Londonderry PD at 1 AM to express his displeasure to the Londonderry PD dispatcher, on a recorded line, no less.
To Chief Aldenberg, while RobbiLeaks can sympathize with the Queen City and the homelessness issue, your approach SUCKED. Your commentary that those unaware of 211 are “negligent” is wildly inappropriate, and, quite honestly, “reckless”. Your decision to berate a LPD dispatcher at 1 AM is nothing short of ridiculous, and your threat to “name and shame” is completely unprofessional. I bet if you try hard, you just might be able to think of a way that you could have handled that situation better. If not, give RobbiLeaks a call. RobbiLeaks hopes that the apology owed to Londonderry PD is as public and passionate as the previous disparaging statements were.
To the men and women of Manchester PD, RobbiLeaks has the utmost respect and admiration for what you do on a daily basis. Stay safe and thank you for your service.
To Amy Coveno, it’s far more important to be right, than it is to be first. Don’t take shortcuts and don’t be lazy. And for the love of all that is Holy, can we please stop with the sensationalizing headlines.
To Chief Bernard, RobbiLeaks commends you for staying above the fray, immediately taking corrective action to ensure that your agency is now familiar with 211. Despite Chief Aldenberg’s assertions, not all are familiar with 211 and that unfamiliarity is certainly not negligence.
To the men and women of Londonderry Police Department, continue to be the professional agency that you have ALWAYS been. Stay safe and thank you for your service.
