Petitioned warrant article could dissolve Wolfeboro police commission

WOLFEBORO — Residents will vote to dissolve or retain this town’s police commission at Town Meeting on March 12.

The police commission, an elected body tasked with oversight of the administration of the police department, is one of fewer than 10 operating among municipalities statewide.

Its responsibilities include: The hiring of personnel and fixing their salaries; enforcing all police department rules and policies for the benefit of the general public; and to remove police personnel for just cause and according to due process.

The petitioned warrant article No. 25 was received by the town clerk’s office on Jan. 7, signed by 27 residents. The originator of the petition is unknown to town officials and police commissioners. It was dropped off in an envelope while town clerk Patricia Waterman was away from the office.

If the article passes, oversight authority for the police department would be transferred to the selectboard. If the article fails, nothing will change.

Police Chief Chris Warn said he doesn’t delve into politics.

“I make it a personal thing never to comment on things the voters will vote on,” Warn said in an interview. “The commission has been in this town since 1960, it’s a body that in a lot of other communities is the board of selectmen.”

Opponents of the article cite concerns regarding precedent which might be set by the change, such as a future article abolishing the selectboard if constituents became frustrated with its operations. Proponents suggest allowing the police department to be governed by elected officials, who may or may not have any relevant experience, is a recipe for bad decision-making.

Budget Committee Vice Chair Robert Tougher was a police officer in Nassau County, New York, for 26 years and supports the dissolution of the police commission.

“I am making the case that the police commission should be disbanded,” Tougher said in an interview, arguing that letting three important powers rest in a single body is irresponsible. He noted the only requirement to serve on the police commission is to be a town resident for five years — the position does not necessitate police or municipal government experience.

“Is it responsible for us as a community to bestow the powers ... to a person who may know nothing about municipal management or police work?” Tougher wondered in a letter penned to Granite State News. “I think not, and I see this as a big hole in the firewall of safe and efficient police operations.”

Tougher noted that between the three commissioners, Chair Shawn Coope, Kevin Duffy and Steve Wood, there is plenty of law enforcement experience. But that arrangement is not guaranteed in the future.

His point of view was borne largely in the aftermath of an MRI investigation which resulted in former Police Chief Dean Rondeau’s retirement. That investigation found Rondeau routinely disparaged minority groups and fostered an unprofessional working environment in the department. The summary of the investigation determined that Rondeau failed to meet his obligation to the department.

Considering the conduct was witnessed and reported multiple times over many years, Tougher believes the saga represents a failing on the part of the police commission to act.

“The commission let the department down just as much as Chief Rondeau,” Tougher explained.

Coope argued that passing the petition could lead to harmful effects down the road.

“Obviously the commission is against it and we feel we’ve had an overwhelming level of support,” Coope said in an interview, explaining the commission was established in 1959 by the state Legislature to combat the perception of corruption.

The commission brings decades of law enforcement experience to the table in maintaining civilian oversight, which is an invaluable resource, he said.

“As a citizen, I support that,” Coope said. “Citizen oversight of law enforcement is important.”

If the article is passed, oversight and administrative powers would revert to the selectboard and police chief. Coope said if voters are not satisfied with the oversight provided by the commission, they should vote the members out, describing the potential abolition of it as tantamount to “throwing out the baby with the bath water”.

“Now I support that [voting members out] — that’s democracy,” he said.

Coope argued the move to end the commission could set a bad precedent whereby voters could in the future elect to disband other necessary municipal bodies, such as the selectboard. He said a common misnomer is the commission meddles too far into the management of the department, which isn’t true — that’s the chief’s domain.

He noted that turbulent recent years may have influenced supporters of the petition, referencing Rondeau's investigation and abrupt retirement. That period may have contributed to a loss of morale among community members and the police department, he acknowledged.

“The agency wasn’t operating at the level we felt the folks in the town deserve,” he said, adding that Warn has done an exceptional job in leading the department. “The chief runs the agency. The union does not run the agency, the officers do not run the agency. The chief runs the agency.”

Members of the commission have sought to communicate to officers that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and town residents and commissioners support them. He said they’ll be surveying officer salaries in the near-term, noting a fierce competition between law enforcement agencies to retain employees. The state police are short around 70 officers, he said.

The safety and security of residents in the community is his top priority, he said, noting his wife and children also live there and that decisions they make affect all local families.

“There’s no way I’m letting them down,” he said. “We’re called public servants for a reason, and you accept that. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be in that position.”