The mayor of the City of Bradford stepped into the primary for McKean County district attorney Thursday with a social media endorsement of Phil Clabaugh.
Clabaugh is challenging incumbent District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer for the Republican nomination in Tuesday’s primary election.
Riel said his position of overseeing the city police department provides him with a unique perspective.
“My opinion is not based on personalities, popularity or who is friends with whom. It is based on my direct personal observation, criminal case results as well as discussion with police officers and attorneys,” he said. “In my position I have both a duty to hold officers accountable for their actions when need be as well as support them 100 percent.”
Riel said since the current DA took office, he has “commonly witnessed the disappointment, frustration and outright anger from many of our officers when justice is denied because of the current DA’s actions or inactions. I did not see this same problem with the two previous DAs.”
The office was held by Ray Learn and Christa Schott before Shaffer was elected.
“Who better to evaluate the performance of the DA than the very police officers who regularly have to try to work with the DA?” Riel said.
“It’s not too hard to boast about a high personal conviction rate when you can pick and choose which cases either get pushed off on assistants, charges plead way down to next to nothing, outright dismissed or officers are told to not even file charges because the current DA does not like the odds,” Riel alleged.
“This is exactly how politics are put before justice and statistics before victims,” Riel said. “This is also how justice is denied in far too many cases. These tactics too often victimize a person a second time and are a slap in the face to local law enforcement’s hard work.”
At least two local officers contacted The Era to say they agreed with Riel’s assessment of Shaffer, but they declined to speak on the record. Other officers reached out as well, saying Riel doesn’t speak for all of them and they wish to remain neutral in the election.
Late Thursday, the Facebook page of the William Hanley Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police — which encompasses the Bradford City, Bradford Township and Foster Township departments — featured a statement about the union’s neutrality in the election.
“William Hanley Sr. Lodge #67 FOP recognize that there are two viable candidates for the McKean County District Attorney race. We, as a body of all members present, voted unanimously to remain neutral in the race. Any statements that have been made are not to be misconstrued as statements made on behalf of the William Hanley Sr. Lodge #67 FOP.”
The only law enforcement agency that went on the record with a comment was Lewis Run-based state police, where station commander Sgt. Mary Gausman said the state police are impartial and will support whoever is elected by the voters.
When reached by The Era, Shaffer declined to comment on Riel’s endorsement.
For his part, Clabaugh said he was grateful for the mayor’s endorsement.
“His statement reinforces my desire to serve McKean County as district attorney and make much-needed changes to the district attorney’s office — changes that value justice over politics and changes that value teamwork and collaboration with members of law enforcement and victims advocacy groups,” he said. “I encourage voters to become informed about the issues by speaking with those who are involved in, or have been affected by, the system. Ultimately, this decision is yours. I appreciate the support I’ve received from across the county, and the opportunity to step up to make a difference.”
