Scranton Mayor-elect Bill Courtright said he misspoke earlier this month when he told community groups that tension between city police and the state attorney general's office was a situation that would end when he takes over as mayor.
Asked to elaborate on his comments made Dec. 5 at the West Side Senior Center to about 20 members of crime watch groups and neighborhood associations, Mr. Courtright said he was referring to a situation that may have existed in the past, when he was a city councilman, and he was not saying there is tension today between the law enforcement agencies.
On Dec. 5, Mr. Courtright addressed various topics, including improving safety and quality of life and the city's financial situation.
At that time, Mr. Courtright spoke of tension between members of the state attorney general's office and the city police, and about "egos," specifically regarding the sharing of confidential informants in drug investigations. He added there will be greater collaboration between the two agencies when he is mayor. At that time, Mr. Courtright had said, "Maybe you don't want to share with another agency, because they'll make the bust and you won't," and, "That nonsense is going to go away."
Asked afterward about his comments, Mr. Courtright said he was referring to what he believed was the situation several years ago between city police and the attorney general's office, around 2006 when he was a city councilman. He said he had no evidence for that opinion and it was based on his recollection of hearsay from when he was a councilman.
When The Times-Tribune reported Mr. Courtright's public comments in a Dec. 6 article, he said he realized he may have given the wrong impression and went to the Police Department to clarify to officers that he was speaking about the past, not the present.
"I certainly didn't mean recent, not at all. That's why I immediately went down to them to clarify it," Mr. Courtright said.
As for his remark, "That nonsense is going to go away," sounding like it was a current situation, Mr. Courtright said, "If I spoke and it came across the wrong way, then I certainly apologize, but that's not what I meant at all."
Scranton police Detective Sgt. Tim Harding said he was surprised to read Mr. Courtright's comments in the Dec. 6 newspaper article because he works with several investigators from the attorney general's office and is not aware of any strained relationship, either past or present.
"We've always enjoyed a great relationship," said Detective Sgt. Harding, who has been on the force for 15 years. "I never knew there to be a bad relationship. To my knowledge, I never saw there was any bad rapport" between the city and state law enforcement agencies.
Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT on Twitter