Gelinas is suing Boisselle for violating his First Amendment rights.
More than a year after he threw a citizen activist out of a public School Committee meeting, former South Hadley School Committee chairman Ed Boisselle defended his actions, saying he was justified in ejecting Luke Gelinas from the buildling.
“I knew at that time that I was in charge of the meeting, and that he was being disruptive, and that if he wanted his full First Amendment rights, they were out on the street. And I think I pointed to where he could go for that,” said Boisselle.
Boiselle's recent comments came during a wide-ranging series of interviews Tuesday with University of Massachusetts investigative journalism students examining South Hadley and the aftermath of Phoebe Prince's suicide. His comments came one day before reports began surfacing that five of the six students charged in connection with Prince's bullying had negotiated plea deals.
Gelinas is suing Boisselle and two police officers who were at the meeting for violating his First Amendment rights.
According to Boisselle, Gelinas was in violation of School Committee policy at the April 14, 2010 meeting. It is against policy to use disparaging or abusive language, which Boisselle said Gelinas did. Gelinas also distributed copies of his speech, which is not permitted unless it is given to the School Committee beforehand for approval.
Boisselle ordered South Hadley police officers Todd Dineen and David Gagne to remove Gelinas from the packed meeting after he criticized the school administration for the handling of Phoebe Prince before and after her tragic death last January.
In a video clip of the meeting, Gelinas is interrupted during his request that the school administration be held accountable by Boisselle’s sounding of the gavel.
“Hold on, hold on,” Boisselle tells Gelinas. At which point Gelinas says, “I was interrupted. Please strike from the record and allow me to continue.” “No, you’re done,” Boisselle responds.
Over a year later, Boisselle stands by his decision to remove Gelinas from the meeting and claims that he was disruptive and disorderly. Boisselle gave two guidelines for the meeting: keep statements to three minutes per person and do not discuss any aspects of Prince’s personal life, claiming a duty as chairperson to honor the Princes’ privacy. Boisselle says that Gelinas did not follow either of those guidelines.
Boisselle insists that Gelinas was out of time and that it was his right as chair to interrupt him in order to maintain control of the meeting. He also says that because of the “emotional tenor” of the meeting, that control was ever more important.
“(He) just doesn’t get it. As to whether or not he has a First Amendment right to say whatever he wants, that could probably be debated and I imagine it will be,” Boisselle said.
Gelinas told The Republican last fall that he did not exceed his time limit and that Boisselle and the officers displayed “schoolyard behavior” and that they should be setting a better example for kids.
Darby O’Brien, friend to Gelinas and fellow activist, said in an earlier interview that after the meeting in question, many South Hadley residents are now afraid to speak freely.
Boiselle dismissed such concerns and questioned why the pair are "obsessed" with the Prince case.
Boisselle said that he has spent most of the time since Prince’s death avoiding the media, claiming that the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe were printing manipulations and half-truths. But now he is ready to tell the administration’s side of the story.
“I think our word has to get out. Not at the expense of Phoebe or her family. But I think it’s important for people to start figuring out what the truth is and what it isn’t,” Boisselle said.
