GREENWICH, CT — The day after the Filipino flag was raised outside of Greenwich Town Hall, it was discovered that it had been removed and replaced with the United States Army flag, according to the town, and now the person responsible has publicly apologized.
At the behest of First Selectman Fred Camillo, David Wold issued an apology on Wednesday.
“I sincerely apologize to the Greenwich Filipino-American community for removing the Filipino flag from the Town Hall flagpole on the morning of June 14,” Wold said. “I met with Town officials and am aware that my actions were not only wrong, but hurtful to the Filipino-American community here in Greenwich. I have assured Town officials that this will not happen ever again.”
The apology was also sent to the Connecticut Association of Filipino and American Families, which organized the flag raising event on June 13, and it was sent to the office of the Philippine Consulate General, the town noted.
The community gathered at Town Hall on June 13 to raise the Filipino flag as Camillo issued a proclamation to declare the day as CT Association of Filipino and American Families Day in Greenwich. The flag was to be displayed until Monday, June 16.
On June 14, the town was made aware that the Filipino flag had been replaced with the U.S. Army flag.
The flag was not removed and replaced by any town personnel, and no members of the public were authorized to remove the flag and replace it with another one, the town said.
Through a police investigation, the town added, Wold was identified as the person responsible.
When contacted by police, Wold “willingly” handed over the flag and it was brought back to Town Hall where it was displayed during the week of June 16.
The U.S. Army flag is on the list of approved flags that can be flown at Town Hall. The Board of Selectmen approves a slate of flags each January under the town’s flag policy, which went into effect in January 2024.
However, the town noted that Wold never asked to hold a ceremonial flag raising for it.
When the town holds a ceremonial flag raising at Town Hall, it must first be approved by the Board of Selectmen and a resident or organization must request and organize the ceremony.
Camillo called the Filipino flag removal “one of the many incidents over the last several years where it’s a disturbing pattern of defiance” from Wold.
Camillo said the flag policy has been explained to Wold multiple times, and he noted excessive Freedom of Information Act requests from Wold over the years that have tied up town employees and resources.
“It takes a lot of time and effort to respond to all of the things that he does. He is the only person in the town of Greenwich that we’ve had an issue with with the flags,” Camillo told Patch on Wednesday.
“If this was a first-time event, obviously we would’ve spoken to the offender and quietly told them that’s not town policy and you don’t take things that don’t belong to you and we would’ve been done with it,” Camillo added. “While we certainly could have had him arrested, we did not want to do that.”
