Serious concern about Joshi as Board of Education candidate

I am deeply concerned about the incumbent board of education candidate AJ Joshi’s, who made claims of racism (see link) of a Bridgewater police officer at the public town council meeting. It turns out that it was a false accusation ( see excerpt from Council meeting minutes of remarks by the Chief of Police in attached images from pages 4, 5 & 6 of Council Meeting minutes on 7-18-2024) , so essentially he publicly made untrue statements about being mistreated from racism by the Bridgewater police, caused undue stress and harm to the police officer’s reputation, and damaged public trust. This incident further reflects deeply concerning issues that Mr Joshi should not serve on the board of education.

Poor judgment

Mr. Joshi commented that there’s “110% racism” while investigation has proven there was not.
This shows concern on Mr Joshi’s poor judgment. The board of education has responsibilities to
develop policies and serve as the governing body for decisions including racism and discrimination. Since this incident shows that Mr Joshi sees a non racist situation as racist, can he be trusted to form fair judgments about matters in schools?

Lack of knowledge and professionalism

It is concerning that Mr. Joshi seemed to not know a governing body’s procedure to handle grievances. To protect the public and the employees, grievances are given due process of investigation, so that both the public and the concerned employee are fairly treated and protected. The fact that Mr Joshi bypassed the due process and went straight to the public to make an accusation, shows his lack of knowledge and proper conduct, and he can not be trusted for upholding due process. This false attack on the police officer could cause serious damage to the police officer’s personal life and career. How can we trust Mr Joshi to have professional decorum and treat people fairly? If Mr Joshi did know the proper process but chose not to follow, I question Mr Joshi’s motive. Law enforcement plays a significant role protecting the school community, who really should be supported and respected. Mr Joshi did the opposite by his false accusation against the police and undermined public trust, it is not what we should expect from a school board member.

Shunning Responsibility

Mr Joshi took action to enable the accusation, and made the accusation himself, then when the accusation was proven false, he stayed silent without taking responsibility. Can we trust him with the important leadership role concerning the education of minors on the board of education? Mr. Joshi in my opinion compromised the safety of our children. Police officers want to do their job protecting our community and kids and they take pride in doing the job well, and a BOE member making false accusations towards officers is demoralizing and is a compromising factor for our children’s safety.

The false accusation of racism towards the police is the tip of the iceberg of Mr Joshi’s poor judgment, biased view, and lack of knowledge. Mr Joshi is unfit for a seat on the board of
education.

William Hugelmeyer
Bridgewater Resident &
Retired Law Enforcement