Cambridge Policeman Charges Politics Led To His Reassignment

Cambridge policeman William G. Maher charged Monday night that political discrimination accounted for his assignment to traffic duty after six years in the detective bureau.

He testified before the City Council at a public hearing attended by about 150 fiercely partisan spectators, many of them policemen and their wives. Strong feelings and equally strong voices marked the 40-minute investigation.

"I just want to know why Chief Brennan transferred me. If it's political I want him to say so," Maher said. Chief of Police Daniel J. Brennan--who, like Maher, testified under oath--denied that Maher's political activities had caused his reassignment.

Running as an independent last November, Maher missed election to the City Council by only 47 votes. He said that the day after the election Brennan accused him of having broken a department regulation by accepting campaign contributions.

Under questioning by Councillor Walter J. Sullivan, Brennan said he had not been entirely satisfied with Maher's work. "Not satisfied?" Sullivan asked. "Here's a man who worked around the clock and I must say a real good detective--" He was interrupted before he could finish. "I've come to the conclusion that you're wrong and it was politically motivated," Sullivan said, drawing even more enthusiastic applause.

The hearing strayed somewhat from its original purpose when Maher began discussing Cambridge's "sorry plight." "We have bookies, we have loan sharks, but we have 40 policemen taking $250,000 a year from illegally parked cars. It's a disgrace," he said.

When Mayor Edward A. Crane '35 asked about a police disciplinary action three years ago, Maher retorted, "You're small. You're small. You gave him 50 hours of extra duty for reading a newspaper, which you do in your office every day.