When asked about the lack of records, Dupere said he could likely reconstruct his own timecard based on schedules, emails and other records, but the previous method of timekeeping was based on an honor system.
“We have to carry ourselves to a higher standard.” “I’m worried about the message it sends for every city employee,” Coogan told Target 12 at the time. That spurred the mayor to inform Dupere on March 6 that his contract – set to expire later this year – wouldn’t be renewed. There was no record of the officers or chief adjusting their times accordingly, he said. He then checked the dates and times against personnel records at the police station. Mayor Paul Coogan, who took over from the twice-indicted former Mayor Jasiel Correia in January, reviewed Target 12 undercover video of officers arriving, drinking and leaving the bar on several occasions.
“We were on our own time, essentially,” Dupere said. The extra time - along with a rule Dupere said allows officers to slide their lunch breaks to the end of the day - made the Friday drinking sessions possible, he said. The veteran police officer nonetheless defended the afternoon drinking, claiming officers work extra hours throughout the week and shift their schedules. “You shouldn’t have even one drink and drive a city vehicle. “It doesn’t look good and it’s not proper,” Dupere said.