Selectmen had no prior knowedge of Alton police probe

The investigation that led the Board of Selectmen to place Police Chief Kevin Iwans and his two ranking officers on a 45-day paid leave of absence was the result of a police officer bringing incriminating information forward to town officials, said Town Attorney James Sessler said last night.

In the initial stages of the investigation, two other police officers confirmed undisclosed information to Sessler. The identity of all three police officers is being protected by the Selectboard under the state’s so-called whistleblower’s act.

Sessler read a prepared statement about the investigation at the beginning of Monday night's selectmen’s meeting. He said he conducted the majority of the investigation with the assistance of Town Administrator Russell Bailey, and that the selectmen had no information about the investigation until last Monday night. After learning what the initial results were, the board voted unanimously to suspend Iwans, Captain Chuck Anderson and Lieutenant Ed Correia.

Sessler said the first officer approached him in September, after a three-member Selectboard meeting passed a series of policies aimed at restricting Iwans’ authority. The policies were later declared void because their consideration was not property noticed to the chief or the general public. Afterwards, both Iwans and Selectman Pat Fuller (who was not at the Sept. meeting) criticized Chairman Cris Blackstone, Pete Shibley and Steve McMahon for passing the measures and at the next selectmen’s meeting, the trio was verbally blasted by a number of residents who blamed the trio for “harassing” the police department.

But the proposed policies apparently emboldened the one officer to contact Sessler. “As a result of the actions the board took in September and the public debate that followed, I received a call from an attorney representing a police officer and, after assurances of confidently, we met in my office in Franklin in the early part of October,” Sessler told the crowded meeting room last night. “He (the officer) said the selectmen were on to something and not to give up.”

Sessler said the information the officer supplied concerned “alleged behavior that warranted further investigation” of the police department. It was later confirmed “by conversation I had with two other officers, after assurances of confidentially.”

The investigation began after Sessler’s initial consultation with the first officer and was authorized by Town Administrator Russell Bailey.

“There are no firm conclusions yet,” Sessler said during a break in the meeting. “We haven’t given our final report to selectmen yet. There are a lot of procedural steps they have to go through. The results could range from disciplinary action needed to no disciplinary charges found.”

If Chief Iwans is suspended without pay or fired, he could appeal the decision to a judge in Belknap County Superior Court, Sessler said. The other two officers would not have that option.

In the meantime, Sessler stressed that despite the recent bad feelings that have been apparent between some selectmen and Iwans, the Selectboard was not aware of the investigation or its initial results until last Monday, shortly before they decided to put the three officers on 45-day paid suspended leave. At that time, a press release from the town revealed that the board unanimously “voted to take such steps as necessary to insure the unrestricted completion of the investigation” of the police department for unspecified charges.

“There was no direct or indirect involvement with the board until last Monday evening,” Sessler said at last night’s meeting. “The board members were never told the details about the investigation until last Monday evening.” In fact, Sessler said in remarks during the meeting break, neither the selectmen nor Bailey knew the names of the three officers interviewed by the attorney until a week ago.

“Because it’s a personal matter and may result in a disciplinary action, it is a matter of confidentiality,” the attorney concluded in his remarks to the audience. “I’ve advised the board not to make any public comment or to allow any speculation from the public that may or may not be involved.”

But after Sessler’s remarks, Marybee Longabaugh read a statement on behalf of herself and her husband Bob (the former editor of the “Main Street” newsletter) that charged the three selectmen who tried to pass the policies with violating their oaths of office. “I am before you because I am a supervisor of the checklist and therefore an elected official who took the same oath as you and so must obey the town’s conflict of interest Ordinance,” she told the board.

She referred to the sections of the oath to “faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all duties… (and familiarize) yourself with the Town of Alton’s Conflict of Interest Ordinance and understand that you may be removed from office for any breach thereof.”

Longabaugh then referenced a Daily Sun newspaper article in which Blackstone discussed problems the selectmen had with Chief Iwans. After the article was published, Iwans, through his attorney, indicated that he was considering asking Belknap County Superior Court to have Blackstone removed for violating her oath of office by allegedly revealing information discussed in non-public personnel meetings.

“(That) the police chief’s dirty linen was being aired in public is a violation” of the selectmen’s oath, Longabaugh said.

She then quoted from oath again: “No town official shall attempt to obtain benefits or special favors not available to the general public or other town officials,” she read. “Contrast that with another selectman’s having their private road plowed by the Highway Department until the Police Department blew the whistle.” (Longabaugh did not identify the selectmen but several sources have said that McMahon was involved in the situation.)

“And finally in the third case,… (the Conflict of Interest Ordinance is) for the benefit of the public trust and in the interest of town government which is fair, impartial and guarantees equal treatment under the law for every citizen,” Longabaugh quoted from the town document. “And for that, we go to the infamous November 16th headline (in the weekly ‘Baysider’ newspaper): ‘For Pete’s Sake,’ where a selectmen (Shibley) is quoted as (saying to a resident), ‘Now I know who you are and where you live and I can make all kinds of trouble for you and your family.’ Does anyone consider that fair and impartial treatment of a citizen?”

Longabaugh concluded by quoting from the oath again, noting that a breach of the Conflict of Interest Ordinance can result in the removal of a selectman from office.

But she said the current situation was difficult to bring to a vote before the board when “a majority of the board has committed a breach.

“Can the minority of the board instruct the Town Attorney (Sessler) to file removal papers with the court? Or do the citizens have to hold raffles on quilts, bake sales and car washes to raise moneys to retain an attorney to proceed?”

None of the selectmen responded to Longabaugh’s remarks.

Lisa T. Carr then asked the board if it was possible to hold a “special election” of Selectboard members. “Every week I’ve been going to Laconia and Gilford and people ask me, what’s going on in Alton?”

But Virgil McDonald won a round of applause from more than half the crowd when he spoke up in favor of the selectmen. “I’d like to thank for doing a great job, for finding out the problems we do have in this town… (and) for hearing the voices of the people.”

During the meeting break, Attorney Sessler addressed the two investigations involving selectmen that Chief Iwans described as ongoing shortly before his leave. The first involved a report that Chairman Blackstone had participated in a “prowling” incident in which a former Alton Police officer was discovered peeping into Iwans’ office window. The second involved the confrontation Shibley allegedly had with a resident in which he said he could cause “all kinds of trouble” for the man and his family.

“I’ve been told that there are no open investigations (involving selectmen) in the department,” Sessler said. “Does that mean there’s no investigation? No, normally what happens in those kinds of cases is that the investigation is transferred to another department, like the Belknap County Attorney’s office or the State Police.”

Sessler also said that all information related to the investigation may never be made public. “You have to understand that we have to protect the privacy rights in personal issues. That’s only fair. What if the allegations proved to be false? Why expose that person to that kind of criticism? But it also may be possible that we (the public) may never find out for sure unless somebody takes it (the case) to court. Then everything will come out because everything will be part of the public record.”

Sessler said that only he and Bailey have conducted the investigation so far. “I’m not a criminal investigator,” he noted.

He also said the town was not intending to bring legal action against the three officers.

The town has not had any formal contact with the suspended officers or any lawyer representing them, he said, since last Monday night when he and Bailey escorted Chief Iwans out of the police station. (The three officers are not allowed to communicate with one another.)

In the meantime, Sessler said that the situation at the police department is stable. He said he and Bailey are at the station virtually every day and things are running smoothly.

“Sergeant Ryan Heath and Detective Peter Llewellyn are kind of co-leading the department. Because of the number of officers who do patrols, they still have the same number of people doing that. They’re all very happy and morale is high. They’re happy to be doing their jobs, happy to be out and meeting the public.”

The selectmen are not having any contact with the police department at this time, the attorney said.