‘Sheriffs don’t have to follow the rules’

CONCORD — Any New Hampshire police officer who is convicted of a misdemeanor crime would forfeit his or her job, but the same is not true of county sheriffs, who are elected officials.

“I’d lose my certification and couldn’t act as a police officer,” said Sunapee Police Chief David Cahill, chair of the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council. “A sheriff can choose to continue, so it’s up to a vote of the people to remove him.”

Cahill said he is unable to provide a count of how many law enforcement officers lose their jobs over criminal transgressions because, in most cases, their local departments handle the termination, and it would not come before Police Standards and Training.

“There are a lot more hearings on certifications,” he said, “but suspensions take place prior to our getting them.”

He said that, in the Sunapee Police Department, “We’d discharge the officer and it would never see the light of day in the police academy. What we’re seeing [in the academy] is not all the events that take place.”

He said a termination form would be sent to the academy to notify the council that an officer has been terminated, but the council would not be involved in the matter unless the person is rehired. Then there would have to be an eligibility hearing on certification to determine whether the officer can be hired.

“We only hold the territory on certification,” Cahill said. “We would rehash that incident [that prompted termination] in a hearing of our own, to see if there’s a violation of our rules.”

Those rules cover such things as mental disorders and behavioral traits that could interfere with the officer’s ability to do the job, including a lack of impulse control, lack of anger management, a propensity for assaultive behavior, and a propensity for illegal sexual behavior.

Certification also would be denied to anyone with a felony or misdemeanor.

Sheriff Hilliard

Cahill did not directly address the case of Merrimack County Sheriff Scott Hilliard, who was recently convicted in Nashua Circuit Court of aggravated driving while intoxicated.

Last September, following Hilliard’s arrest by Tilton police, the Police Standards and Training Council temporarily suspended Hilliard’s certification, pending the outcome of the case.

The judge found him guilty on Jan. 14, but gave Hilliard 30 days to decide whether to appeal the decision.

Hilliard said he intends to complete his term of office, despite the conviction and the loss of police certification. His duties are administrative in nature, and there is no requirement for sheriffs to hold law enforcement certification.

Gov. Chris Sununu has called for Hilliard’s resignation from the job, but the Merrimack County Commission has taken a hands-off position because of the sheriff’s elected position.

Cahill, who has served on the council since 2012, said he cannot recall another incident involving a sheriff.

He noted that the minutes of the council’s monthly meetings are posted online, so it’s possible to review the record on certification cases. While many of the deliberations take place in nonpublic session, the council returns to public session for a formal vote to certify or decertify an officer.

A review of two years’ worth of meeting minutes did not identify any similar cases. Generally, they involve transgressions such as untruthfulness or failure to complete required physical testing.