Frank Irigon
Dear Kathy,
I recently found out that you appointed three non-Asians to Assistant Chiefs positions. I felt blindsided and betrayed. You were aware of the Asian Pacific Islanders (API)’s community concerns that there were no APIs on your command staff. Based on your previous history, when you were the Boston police commissioner and appointed an API to your command staff, it gave me hope. I assured the late Alan Sugiyama, my compadre and brother, who vigorously pressed you to appoint an API to your command staff, to have patience. That given the opportunity, you would do the right thing. I was wrong and he was right. In my soul, I can hear Alan telling me, “I told you so,” and “I told you not to trust her.” I should have listened.
My takeaway from this experience with you is not to trust or befriend a top cop. That there is a natural divide between us and the Chief. To be an effective activist, one must always view the top cop and his/her underlings as foes first and not friends. Are there exceptions? Maybe.
I really do feel that the Grinch stole Christmas from us.
Feeling blindsided and betrayed,
— Frank Irigon