MOULTONBOROUGH — Police Chief Richard Stillman resigned from his position on Jan. 21, a week after the town's selectboard rejected accusations he brought against a member of his own department.
Stillman was appointed to the position in 2020, and had previously worked as a police chief for over 17 years in Maine and Massachusetts. The Sun had not been given a copy of Stillman's resignation letter as of this publication's deadline, nor did the selectboard chair return a request for comment.
Stillman's resignation comes just seven days after the Moultonborough board of selectmen acquitted Det. Peter John of a list of accusations brought against him by Stillman.
Stillman accused John of untruthfulness, the mishandling of found property and violation of the chain of command.
According to documents from the selectboard, Stillman opened an investigation into John through Municipal Resources Incorporated after a previous internal investigation through the office of the state Attorney General failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing.
The MRI investigation was conducted in the fall and presented to the selectboard as justification for disciplinary actions against John. The selectboard, as explained in a nine-page decision signed by chair Kevin Quinlan on Jan. 14, offered John the opportunity answer the charges. John was represented by a personal attorney as well as counsel from the New England Police Benevolent Association in a nonpublic meeting held on Jan. 6.
The selectboard unanimously rejected all of MRI's findings, stating that the allegations were not sustained in all three cases. The report also concluded that the MRI investigation was "seriously flawed and denied Detective John basic due process."
John expressed his satisfaction with the outcome in an official statement released on Jan. 28.
“I am proud to serve and protect the Town of Moultonborough and consider it a privilege to work with the Board of Selectmen and the citizens of the town for the past 14 years,” John said. “This is a special place with special people that I love.”
The Sun was unable to find contact information for Stillman.
(5) comments
Welcome back Officer John! We are community members that love you and have missed you. Thank you for your service to our town.
John served the town over 15 years in good faith. Maybe they shoul make him Chief 👍🏼
Chief John? 😁
It's great to finally see this far too drawn out drama come to a close. As a resident of Moultonborough, I've know Det. John for many years. He's a fine public servant with a true dedication to the community and his position. I hope he can put this behind him and continue to bring the joy and passion to the job that we've come to know from him.
It’s a shame that “protecting the blue” means that bad too. It’s unfortunate, this cop had to resigned, he seemed like a good one. Police reform.
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