Judge stays injunction against Gilmanton selectmen’s Police Dept. edicts

LACONIA — A Superior Court judge issued an order telling Gilmanton selectmen they cannot enforce a set directives dealing with the operation of the town’s Police Department until the matter is decided by the court.

Judge James D. O’Neill III issued the order Thursday, saying that if the directives were allowed to go into effect now it could cause serious harm to the Police Department and its officers.

Selectmen last December enacted a series of Police Department policies regarding staffing and personnel, including the hours of coverage, staffing levels, lengths of shifts, use of cruisers and when officers are permitted to travel beyond town limits. They also told Police Chief Matt Currier to turn over material from the officers’ personnel records, including background checks and polygraph test results.

After the policies took effect Jan. 1, Currier took selectmen to court. On Feb. 13 Superior Court Justice Amy Ignatius issued an emergency temporary restraining order blocking the selectmen from enforcing the directives.

At a hearing in May in Belknap Superior Court, attorneys for the selectmen argued the directives are a legitimate exercise of their administrative authority over town operations, while Currier’s attorney countered that the orders interfere with his ability to run the department in a safe and efficient way.

In his ruling O’Neill stated that Currier’s request for an injunction against the selectmen met all the legal requirements. While the judge acknowledged that the “statutory interpretation of issues at the core of this case cannot be clearly resolved at this time,” he found that handing over to the selectmen some of the information they were demanding posed a threat to the officers’ safety.

He also said allowing the directives to take effect now could cause irreparable harm to the department if the court should later decide that the directives are legally impermissible. He also found that delaying enforcement of the directives will not prevent the selectmen from doing their job. He further stated the Currier stood a reasonable chance to winning his case against the selectmen.

“The selectmen are empowered to do only such acts as are required to meet the exigencies of ordinary town business. The directives arguably go beyond ‘the exigencies of ordinary town business,’” O’Neill wrote.

The town’s attorney, Mark Broth, could not be reached Thursday for comment. Attorney Edward Philpot, who is representing Currier, said he was withholding comment until he had a chance to read the judge’s decision.