Letter to the Editor: ‘I Will Gladly Release All The Specifics’ of Suit

The following editorial was submitted by Richie Webb Sr. to LevittownNow.com on Wednesday night.  Portions of the below statement were used in a story run earlier this evening about the federal lawsuit settled with his son by Bristol Borough. 

After reading the article in the September 11, 2013,” Bristol Settles Police Officer Suit” in the Courier Times, I felt compelled to respond to Mr. Lavery, the attorney who spoke on behalf of Bristol Borough’s insurance company but left significant details of the settlement unclear.

It is true that all defendants in the case were dismissed but only after the insurance company agreed to pay my son and attorney $440,000.00 to settle.  Unlike the Bristol Borough officials I will gladly release all the specifics, including all transcripts with details from sworn statements taken at depositions, verifying my words.

Mr. Lavery would have you believe that the insurance company settled the lawsuit because they are solely concerned about the Borough. I believe Mr. Lavery settled this suit because he knew it would cost the insurance company much more to defend it and the potential for a verdict in favor of my son was great. However, for the record, I agree with the borough council members; I was against settling because I believe that the truth is more important than the money and the truth would not be released to the public if settled.  To think that approximately a million dollars was expended by the Borough and it’s insurance company to resolve Webb litigation and another lawsuit resulting from the unlawful actions of the police department.

You see the truth is Ritchie stood up for a young lady at her most vulnerable time after a fellow officer molested her and he was later fired and sent to prison, guilty of Official Oppression. The results of Ritchie’s actions, not to support the officer who acted inappropriately, choosing instead to do what is right, set off a chain reaction that has made his life and his family’s life a living hell.

Additionally, Mr. Lavery suggests that all the defendants deeply regret that any payments were made to Officer Webb, suggesting they did nothing wrong. Once again I would suggest that reading the sworn transcripts of the depositions might bring the reader to a different conclusion by reason of perjured testimony.

The irony of this is that Ritchie did not seek money from the Borough but only requested a letter that was improperly placed in his employment file, without merit be removed. Only after the Chief, Mayor and their attorney refused, Ritchie filed the lawsuit.

Ritchie has retained his position as a Bristol Borough Police Officer; a job he loves, serving the town of Bristol Borough where he resides and is honored to serve the people of Bristol.

We teach our children to stand for what is right, helping those in need and to be honest; Ritchie passed that test which makes me a very proud father.