May 9, 2006 

Millville chief resigns

Settlement keeps Ryan on payroll

By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

MILLVILLE— For more than half his life, Chief Timothy P. Ryan, 44, has been a police officer for Millville, and now that police work is done.

Chief Ryan, who became a police officer when he was 21 and was sworn in as chief on July 6, 1987 — the youngest police chief ever appointed in Massachusetts at the time — has resigned, effective Dec. 31. Although he will still be on the payroll until then, he will not be involved in any Police Department activities, according to a settlement agreement signed yesterday.

He also will be permitted to go to the FBI’s academy for municipal officers in October. Chief Ryan and town officials did not return phone calls yesterday after the agreement was released.

Chief Ryan, who has been a Millville police officer for 23 years and chief for 19 of them, said in a statement:

“The town and I have agreed to resolve our outstanding differences. As part of this agreement, I will be leaving the Department effective December 31, 2006. During the interim period, I will be pursuing other professional opportunities and will not be involved in Police Department affairs. I wish to express my regret that the town, the Millville Police Department and those persons who filed complaints had to endure this trying period. It is my hope that my departure and this apology will serve to heal rifts caused by these incidents, and I pledge to support the town’s desire to move forward.”

Chief Ryan, who last year served as president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, faced 21 charges from selectmen, including failing to establish written rules, improperly inserting himself into a neighborhood dispute and inappropriately discussing a social service investigation with his officers. State police have been overseeing the day-to-day operations of the department since the chief was placed on leave in March.

Three members of the Board of Selectmen, Diane O. McCutcheon, Paul J. Savage and Thomas J. Petrowicz, voted to suspend Chief Ryan pending a disciplinary hearing.

Sessions of the hearing were held April 20 and May 1, and a third session, scheduled for last Thursday, was canceled. Instead, there was a four-hour executive session in which negotiations took place.

Selectmen Kenneth Gikas and Brian Dicks abstained from the initial vote and did not participate in the hearings and negotiations.

Under the agreement, Chief Ryan’s resignation is not revocable and he may not apply for future employment with the town.

Though the town agreed to pay him through Dec. 31, “Chief Ryan shall have no active or passive role in Police Department affairs and will perform no services on behalf of the Police Department,” according to the agreement.

Further, “Chief Ryan shall not accrue any other benefits during this period, except for pension contributions, and acknowledges that no benefits are on the books. Further, the town will provide reasonable assistance to Chief Ryan’s attendance at the FBI Academy.”

The FBI clause was a central factor in reaching the agreement, Town Counsel David Jenkins said. Chief Ryan has been admitted to the FBI academy for municipal officers in October and had to be a police officer to attend.

“The town wanted to treat him right,” Mr. Jenkins said. “Recognizing that, the town needed to move on.”

The parties also agreed not to say or write anything that would be detrimental to one of them or would damage any reputation.

Mr. Jenkins said the negotiations began at an executive session that lasted for three hours April 29.

At the May 1 session of the hearing, a former Millville police officer testified that he left the Police Department because he was routinely disparaged by Chief Ryan in front of other officers and that the chief made ethnic slurs. The accusations were made by Mendon Sgt. Donald R. Blanchette, who worked as a part-time officer in Millville from 1989 to 1994, and was a full-time officer there from 1994 to 1997. The disciplinary hearing was scheduled to resume last Thursday, but before it started, the board went into the executive session and worked out the agreement.

Chief Ryan’s brother, Sgt. James Ryan, and Officer Gerald Millette also were placed on paid administrative leave April 20. Their disciplinary hearings are still pending. Sgt. Ryan’s hearing is scheduled for May 16 and Officer Millette’s is scheduled for May 23. Mr. Jenkins said neither man has said whether the hearing will be open or closed. Chief Ryan chose to have his hearing in open session.

“The town had to do the right thing by the town, and had to do the right thing by the chief,” Mr. Jenkins said. “It’s time for everyone to move forward.”

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Testimony starts in Chief Ryan discipline hearings

By Emelie Rutherford/ Daily News Staff

MILLVILLE -- The town called its first two witnesses in the disciplinary hearings for Police Chief Timothy Ryan, who officials may try to fire for allegedly violating town policy.

Ryan, who has been on paid leave since March 7, sat staring straight ahead during much of the 2 1/2-hour hearing, presided over by selectmen Chairwoman Diane McCutcheon.  

A crowd of hundreds of skeptics and supporters of Ryan -- including police chiefs from around the state -- whispered, moaned and laughed during deliberations in the Millville Elementary School auditorium.  

Ryan is facing 21 complaints alleging he violated town disciplinary policy, which McCutcheon outlined in a five-page letter dated March 23.  

Last night’s witnesses testified on two of four major subjects addressed in McCutcheon’s letter: his involvement with a neighborhood dispute and a child welfare case linked to a former Millville Police officer.

Donald Blanchette, the former officer who now works for the Mendon Police, testified that Ryan told him the state Department of Social Services was investigating him for a case involving a relative who is a minor.  

Sitting on a folding chair on stage with a microphone in his hand, Blanchette said he believed Ryan leaked information about the investigation to others as retaliation for his leaving the Millville Police Department in the 1990s.  

Three of the 21 complaints against Ryan cited in McCutcheon’s letter are tied to Ryan’s disclosure of the DSS investigation. 

Blanchette said after talking to Ryan he learned he actually was not the subject of the DSS investigation. Thus, he told town attorney David Jenkins, the information Ryan told him and leaked was false.  

On cross-examination by Ryan’s attorney, Andrew Gambaccini, Blanchette confirmed that he was at one point the subject of the DSS investigation, but was later ruled out.  

The town’s second witness last night was Bob Baker, who said he was pulled into a dispute among his neighbors after a Millville Police officer showed up at his house last July.

Six of the 21 complaints against Ryan are tied to his handling of the neighbors’ dispute at Suzette Circle.  

Baker said he was questioned in a harassing manner at the police station last July about a vandalism incident he said he was not involved in. While Ryan was not involved in questioning Baker that night, Baker testified Ryan should be accountable because he was the chief of the department.  

Baker said he sent e-mails to Ryan, asking him to bring perjury charges against a neighbor who allegedly lied to try to tie him to the incident.  

Baker testified that Ryan improperly shared his e-mail messages to him with an attorney for the neighbor who allegedly lied about Baker’s involvement with the vandalism.  

When questioned by Gambaccini, Baker said he also shared some of his and Ryan’s e-mail exchanges with neighbors.  

Ryan’s next disciplinary hearing will be at the elementary school Thursday at 6 p.m. Jenkins said he expects eight to 10 more witnesses to be called by the town and Ryan.

The Central Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association cast a vote of confidence for Ryan recently, according to John Collins, general counsel for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

April 6, 2006

Union supports chief, officers -
Millville police hearings set 

Donna Boynton, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

MILLVILLE - The Millville Police Union has come out in support of its police chief and two fellow officers, all of whom have been on administrative leave since last month, pending a hearing.

In a statement released earlier this week, all six members of the Millville Police Department - the town's remaining full-time officers - said the union unanimously voted to affirm its support of Patrol Officer Gerald Millette, Sgt. James Ryan and Police Chief Timothy P. Ryan, all of whom were relieved of duty by the Board of Selectmen on March 7 following an investigation by town counsel. The investigation stems from four written complaints from residents and former and current town employees regarding Police Department operations.

The state police have been overseeing daily operations of the Police Department since. Chief Ryan and Officer Millette are on paid administrative leave; Sgt. Ryan, a part-time employee, is on unpaid leave.

"All three were unjustly removed from duty, causing each loss of income," according to the statement signed by Patrol Officers Michael Merolli, Jeff Dean, Steve Sinko, Roy Sullivan, John Moore and Andy Obuchowski.

The union members also lamented the fact that the Board of Selectmen has declined to offer reasons for the three officers' removal.

David Jenkins, a lawyer from Kopelman & Paige representing the town, said the town has not been officially notified of the union's vote of support and will withhold comment until then.

Andrew J. Gambaccini, a lawyer from the Worcester firm of Reardon, Joyce & Akerson representing Chief Ryan, said in an earlier interview that the chief faces 21 charges involving his alleged failure to have rules and regulations in place, improperly inserting himself into a neighborhood dispute, working paid details that are alleged to be in violation of the state conflict of interest law, and improperly disclosing information about a Department of Social Service investigation to two other unidentified officers. The union called the charges against the chief a "series of non-criminal allegations which don't appear to justify the removal from duty."

The selectmen have scheduled a hearing for Chief Ryan at 6 p.m. April 20 in the Longfellow Municipal Center. The chief is expected to request that the hearing, which may last for several days, be held in open session.

Mr. Jenkins said that Sgt. Ryan and Officer Millette received notice of the charges against them Monday. Sgt. Ryan, the chief's brother, is facing four charges from the town and his hearing is scheduled for May 16. Officer Millette faces three charges, and his hearing will be May 23. Mr. Jenkins would not divulge the nature of the charges on grounds that they involve a personnel matter.

The union also noted that Sgt. Ryan and Officer Millette have waited more than three weeks for their charges.

"No one deserves this type of treatment," the union said in its statement.

Reached for comment yesterday, Mr. Gambaccini said the union vote speaks for itself, and appears to refute Mr. Jenkins' earlier comment that the department is "wildly mismanaged."

"This speaks directly to that point that the remaining members of the Millville Police Department are showing unanimous support for the chief and the two other officers," Mr. Gambaccini said.

Mr. Gambaccini said he has requested several documents from Mr. Jenkins and the town, with which he plans to prepare his defense, and, with two weeks until the hearing, has yet to receive a response.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jenkins said the Board of Selectmen voted earlier this week to issue a number of subpoenas to witnesses for the April 20 hearing. Those who received subpoenas include Sgt. Ryan, a local lawyer and two local reporters, Sara Withee of the Milford Daily News and Ed Thompson of Milford radio station WMRC-AM (1490). 

April 21, 2006

Tapes show chief gave conflicting statements

Author:  Steven H. Foskett Jr., Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

MILLVILLE - Lawyers for the town played audiotaped testimony last night that appears to show police Chief Timothy P. Ryan giving conflicting statements on whether his department followed written rules and regulations.

At a raucous disciplinary hearing, lawyers for the town and the chief - who was put on administrative leave in March by selectmen on various charges - sparred about four hours in front of a packed house at Millville Elementary School.

Chief Ryan faces 21 charges from selectmen, including failing to establish written rules and regulations for his department, working paid details in violation of the state conflict-of-interest law, improperly inserting himself into a neighborhood dispute and inappropriately discussing a social service investigation with his officers.

The board made it through opening statements last night. The next hearing, which could include witness testimony, will be in May. The chief could have kept the session closed, but opted to open it to the public. Several area police chiefs, active and retired, attended in support of Chief Ryan.

In his long opening statement, David Jenkins, a town attorney from Kopelman and Paige, played a tape from Oct. 25 of questions he asked Chief Ryan while investigating complaints against the chief last year.

Mr. Jenkins was heard asking the chief if the department operates under written rules and regulations.

"Yes," Chief Ryan responded on the tape.

Answering more questions, Chief Ryan responded that the rules and regulations - which typically cover such things as conflicts of interest, abuse of position and personal appearance - were distributed to officers, and that they signed the document. He said the department had operated under the rules and regulations for three years.

But in a Feb. 8 interview, also recorded, Mr. Jenkins again questioned the chief.

"How long have you been working on the rules and regulations, chief?" Mr. Jenkins asked.

"Not that long," Chief Ryan responded. "You know it's been brought to our attention, so we decided to look at it."

Mr. Jenkins asked who brought it to his attention, and Chief Ryan conceded that Mr. Jenkins had.

Mr. Jenkins also last night produced e-mails that Chief Ryan sent to officers in the department just hours after an interview in January. In the e-mails, the chief told the officers the department was "in the process" of creating a rules and regulations manual. 

April 22, 2006 

Hearing on chief a drama -
Millville board airs accusations

Steven H. Foskett Jr., Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

MILLVILLE - Lawyers for the town stressed that the disciplinary hearing for Millville Police Chief Timothy P. Ryan is not a court of law.

But Thursday night's hearing for the chief - who, along with his brother, Sgt. James Ryan, and Officer Gerald Millette, is on paid administrative leave - almost immediately took on the feel of a courtroom drama, with opening statements, evidence, objections, and battling lawyers. There were even catcalls, audible gasps, and occasional rounds of applause followed by the banging of a gavel.

The detail was laid on so thick, in fact, that Town Counsel David Jenkins took nearly three hours to get his opening statement in. Another hearing has been scheduled in May; town officials said they hope to have witnesses testify.

Chief Ryan faces 21 charges from selectmen, including failing to establish written rules and regulations for his department, working paid details in violation of the state conflict-of-interest law, improperly inserting himself into a neighborhood dispute and inappropriately discussing a social service investigation with his officers. The state police have been overseeing the day-to-day operations of the department since the chief was put on leave in March.

The bulk of Mr. Jenkins' opening statement dealt with a few different issues: that the longtime chief did not have a set of rules and regulations that is required by his job description; that he allegedly exacted revenge upon officers who left the department; and that he meddled in a long-simmering neighborhood dispute.

Rather than refute the specific details laid out by Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Ryan's lawyer, Andrew Gambaccini, chose instead to downplay some charges and ignore others, while painting his client as a dedicated and decorated public servant who has lived his entire life in town.

Mr. Jenkins played audiotape at the hearing that appeared to show Chief Ryan giving conflicting statements over the course of several interviews regarding whether he had officers sign a set of rules and regulations when they began working in the department.

Mr. Gambaccini did not address what Mr. Jenkins called Chief Ryan's "untruths" about the matter, but instead told the hearing that in a small town like Millville, rules and regulations are covered by day-to-day management of the department, the town's general bylaws, and the town's personnel bylaws.

Mr. Jenkins also laid out Chief Ryan's involvement in a neighborhood dispute that led to resident Robert Baker wanting to file perjury charges last year against one of his neighbors who was involved in the dispute.

In what Mr. Jenkins called an unbelievable breach of police procedure, Chief Ryan took one of the complaints Mr. Baker sent by e-mail to the chief and forwarded it to Robert Laren, a lawyer representing a party Mr. Baker was at odds with. Then, in a move Mr. Jenkins said took "brass" to attempt, Mr. Laren replied in an e-mail with a suggested response to Mr. Baker. Chief Ryan then responded to Mr. Baker using, word-for-word, Mr. Laren's suggested response.

And in the response, using Mr. Laren's exact words, the chief warned Mr. Baker that if he wasn't careful, he could be charged with witness intimidation.

"That is a threat," Mr. Jenkins said Thursday night.

Mr. Gambaccini did not specifically address the back-and-forth between the chief and Mr. Laren, but said the chief's involvement in the neighborhood dispute was simply small-town community policing.

Chief Ryan's lawyers - Mr. Gambaccini and Michael Akerson - had hoped Thursday night's hearing would not happen at all. They called for the hearing to be transferred to an independent arbitrator.

The board denied Chief Ryan's lawyers' request for arbitration. 

May 2, 2006

Witnesses speak against chief -
Disciplinary hearing to continue

Linda Bock, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

MILLVILLE - A former Millville police officer testified last night that he left the Police Department because he was routinely disparaged by Chief Timothy P. Ryan in front of other officers and that the chief made ethnic slurs.

Donald R. Blanchette, of Grove Street, now a sergeant in Mendon, was one of two witnesses who testified before the Board of Selectmen in a second session of the chief's disciplinary hearing. Sgt. Blanchette worked as a part-time officer in Millville from 1989 to 1994, and was a full-time officer there from 1994 until 1997.

Sgt. Blanchette said he left Millville's department because it was a very difficult department to work for. He said he was routinely disparaged by Chief Ryan in front of other officers, and that the chief improperly disclosed information to other officers.

"I'm a Frenchman," Sgt. Blanchette said. "He said all Frenchmen were stupid and liars."

Though Sgt. Blanchette testified that it was a long series of "nitpicking" by Chief Ryan that eventually led him to leave, it was another incident that caused Sgt. Blanchette to file a complaint. Last July, the state Department of Social Services apparently sent a letter to Millville to inform Sgt. Blanchette that he and a relative were under investigation. Sgt. Blanchette subsequently learned from the state police that he was not the subject of the investigation.

However, he thought it was odd that Chief Ryan requested a meeting with him at the town line. At that meeting, Chief Ryan told him about the investigation. Sgt. Blanchette also testified that a detective from Blackstone was also investigating the DSS allegations.

"I was devastated" to learn of the investigation in that manner, Sgt. Blanchette said. He said Chief Ryan would not give him the paperwork. He thought it was odd the meeting did not take place in the police station or at his home and that he was denied access to the report. Sgt. Blanchette, who also said Chief Ryan told other officers of the investigation, filed a complaint with the Board of Selectmen on Sept. 9.

Under cross-examination, Sgt. Blanchette admitted the "nitpicky" things ended nine years ago when he left the Millville Police Department, that he did not file a complaint against the detective in Blackstone, that Chief Ryan was not gloating when he met with him at the town line to tell him about the DSS investigation, and that Chief Ryan may have thought it was more appropriate to turn over the DSS investigation to the state police to avoid getting local departments involved.

The hearing for the chief - who along with his brother, Sgt. James Ryan, and Officer Gerald Millette, is on paid administrative leave - officially began April 20 and resumed just after 6 p.m. yesterday in the Millville Elementary School. The auditorium was packed for the second night.

Chief Ryan faces 21 charges from selectmen, including failing to establish written rules, improperly inserting himself into a neighborhood dispute and inappropriately discussing a social service investigation with his officers. State police have been overseeing the day-to-day operations of the department since the chief was placed on leave in March.

The entire Board of Selectmen was present: Diane O. McCutcheon, chairwoman, Paul J. Savage and Thomas J. Petrowicz, with lawyer Jan Silverman sitting at their table to consult on various matters throughout the evening. David Jenkins, also from Boston-based Kopelman and Paige, also represented the town, and Andrew Gambaccini and Michael Akerson of Worcester-based Reardon, Joyce & Akerson represented Chief Ryan. A court reporter did double-duty by also swearing in the witnesses.

Though the board previously denied Chief Ryan's lawyers' request for arbitration, Mr. Akerson began the hearing last night by reiterating his request for arbitration.

"Denied," Ms. McCutcheon said.

Robert Baker of Alfonso Street testified that he became involved when Sgt. Ryan questioned him about an incident of vandalism that occurred about a week before in his neighborhood.

"I just felt like I was being badgered," Mr. Baker said.

Soon after, Mr. Baker said he filed a complaint with the Board of Selectmen. Beginning on Nov. 29, Mr. Baker said he wrote a series of e-mails to Chief Ryan to ask him to investigate. In what Mr. Jenkins characterized as an unbelievable breach of police procedure, Chief Ryan allegedly took one of Mr. Baker's e-mail complaints addressed to him, and forwarded it to Robert Laren, a lawyer representing a party Mr. Baker was at odds with. Mr. Baker said he never received a satisfactory response from Chief Ryan, and that it was outrageous that Chief Ryan shared his confidential e-mails.

Under cross-examination, Mr. Baker said Chief Ryan was not present in the interrogation room for his questioning regarding the neighborhood incident by Sgt. Ryan, and did not participate. Mr. Baker also said he copied some of his letters to Chief Ryan and to his wife and lawyer, and sent copies to all the neighbors in his mailing list. Mr. Baker said he did not recall whether he blind-copied the letter to anyone else.

Mr. Baker testified that he had wanted Chief Ryan to broker a neighborhood truce over a contentious, ongoing dispute between neighbors.

Mr. Gambaccini asked Mr. Baker if he was aware that one of the charges Chief Ryan faces is that he improperly interjected himself into a civil matter. More a rhetorical question, Mr. Gambaccini moved on to the next question before Mr. Baker answered. He asked Mr. Baker, "When in your mind did it not become confidential?" regarding sharing and posting his e-mails to the chief. Mr. Baker replied, "When I chose to post it."

The hearing will resume at 6 p.m. Thursday in the elementary school.

March 31, 2006

Police chiefs union back Ryan

By Sara Withee / Daily News Staff

MILLVILLE -- The president of a statewide organization of top cops, upset at the town’s move to place Police Chief Timothy Ryan on leave, says his group will play an active role in upcoming hearings.     

The head of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association said the group also opposes the town’s decision to hand control of local law enforcement over to the state police.  

"Chief Ryan is a professional police chief and he is highly respected throughout the state and from the information we have at this time, we are deeply concerned with the action taken by the town of Millville," Shrewsbury Police Chief Wayne Sampson said this week. 

Sampson said members of his organization will attend Ryan’s hearings, which begin April 20. Personnel hearings can be closed to the public under the state’s Open Meeting Law, but employees can open them, as Ryan, Millville’s chief of 19 years, has chosen to do.

Ryan, whose department serves a town of 3,000, was placed on leave March 7, along with his brother, part-time Sgt. James Ryan and full-time Officer Gerald Millette.  

Putting those officers on leave has strapped the 10 full- and part-time members. Sampson said his association has no problem with state troopers being brought in to fill shifts.

The group does oppose state police taking charge in Millville with appointment of state police Lt. Sean Baxter. It’s the first time the agency has taken over a town department since 1997.  

"We are disappointed they have taken a supervisory role at this point," Sampson said. "We feel that is inappropriate at this point and that the town should appoint an acting chief."  

Beyond precedent, Sampson said the reasons given for the leave don’t justify it. The association believes chiefs should stay on the job even during disciplinary proceedings unless the alleged actions may be criminal and risk public safety.  

"This is a political situation that the town of Millville is in," Sampson said. "This is not a situation where there is any criminal wrongdoing and the state police need to come in for any supervisory purpose."   

Ryan’s attorney has told reporters the town has filed 21 complaints against the chief. The complaints focus on four areas: his handling of a neighborhood dispute, his telling two department members about a child welfare case being investigated by the state Department of Social Services, his working paid details on his time off and his lack of written rules and regulations for the department.  

Police chiefs are "absolutely" allowed to work paid details in Massachusetts, Sampson said, adding that a local board of selectmen has the right to set standards 

Many departments have policies and procedures but lack rules and regulations -- which deal with issues such as when officers can start wearing short-sleeve shorts -- or have old ones, Sampson said. The selectmen’s claim threatens many small police departments in similar situations, but even larger ones because written rules cannot address every situation, he said. In such situations, departments refer to "past practices," Sampson said.  

"Every single police department in Massachusetts today has unwritten rules and regulations," Sampson said. "It is absolutely impossible to have a rule and regulation to cover every issue in this business."  

Sharing sensitive information within a department is common practice and part of a chief’s job, Sampson said.  

Police chiefs and officers routinely get involved in neighborhood disputes and sometimes have to file charges, like in this case, Sampson said. Ryan awakening late at night to respond shows his commitment, Sampson said.  

"Any police chief that gets up at 1 o’clock in the morning to respond to a neighborhood dispute should be commended, not disciplined," Sampson said.  

Neither selectmen Chairwoman Diane McCutcheon nor Town Counsel David Jenkins returned telephone calls seeking comment yesterday.  

March 28, 2006

Millville chief faces accusations
Selectmen to hold hearing April 20

By Donna Boynton TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

MILLVILLE— Police Chief Timothy P. Ryan faces 21 charges from the Board of Selectmen, including failing to establish written rules and regulations for his department, working paid details in violation of the state conflict-of-interest law, improperly inserting himself into a neighborhood dispute and inappropriately discussing a social service investigation with his officers.

The selectmen have scheduled a hearing for 6 p.m. April 20 in the Longfellow Municipal Center, and the hearing may last for several days. Chief Ryan has requested that the hearing be held in open session, according to his lawyer, Andrew J. Gambaccini, of the Worcester firm of Reardon, Joyce & Akerson.

None of the charges appears to be criminal in nature.

Chief Ryan referred all questions to Mr. Gambaccini

The Board of Selectmen voted March 7 to relieve Chief Ryan, Sgt. James Ryan — the chief’s brother — and Officer Gerald Millette of their duties. Chief Ryan, the police chief since 1988, and Officer Millette, a full-time employee, are on paid administrative leave. Sgt. Ryan was placed on unpaid leave because he is a part-time employee.

The state police have been overseeing the operation of the department since March 7.

Diane McCutcheon, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Gambaccini said he received a copy of the charges, which were spelled out in 21 paragraphs, late Friday afternoon. Mr. Gambaccini said the charges can be reduced to four categories: failing to promulgate a set of rules and regulations; working private paid details, which violates the state conflict-of-interest statute; improperly interjecting himself into a civil suit relating to a neighborhood dispute on Suzette Circle; and disclosing sensitive information from the state Department of Social Services to two other officers in his department.

The town’s lawyer, David Jenkins of the firm of Kopelman & Paige, said privacy rules prevent him from discussing the specific charges.

“The charges, if proven, demonstrate a department that is wildly mismanaged,” said Mr. Jenkins, adding that the chief has not found the time in 18 years to set forth rules and regulations, one of his main responsibilities as chief.

“When the evidence comes out, it will show that there is a real issue with the chief’s truthfulness in handling the complaints and responding to the investigation,” he said.

Many of the charges stem from the challenges of overseeing a small town department, said Mr. Gambaccini.

“These seem to be minor allegations, and the board took the most severe action they were able to take,” said Mr. Gambaccini, adding that during the hearing the board will have to justify its “rather severe actions” of placing the chief and two other officers on leave and calling in the state police.

Mr. Jenkins countered, however, that the selectmen have not taken any actions, pending the hearing.

Mr. Gambaccini said yesterday that Millville has policies and procedures governing professional conduct and the way police work is done, including policies on the use of force, high speed pursuits and appropriate arrest procedures. However, like many other small-town departments, Millville doesn’t have rules and regulations, which outline more cosmetic standards, involving uniforms, hair length, facial hair and tattoos.

“A number of small departments don’t have rules and regulations, and rather are guided by common sense,” said Mr. Gambaccini. “In a small town like Millville, when the chief is one of the officers on the street, it’s difficult to come up with rules and regulations for hair length. It’s time-consuming.”

Mr. Gambaccini added that he has not seen a formal request from selectmen for the chief to establish rules and regulations at any time during his tenure as chief, nor during any other chief’s tenure in Millville. Furthermore, he said the “strong chief” statute, which was adopted by town meeting several years ago, states that the chief shall make suitable regulations governing his department, but does not specifically spell out how that is to be done. It can be as simple as communicating with officers via e-mail or memo, which Chief Ryan has done, said Mr. Gambaccini.

Mr. Gambaccini said Millville has a difficult time filling details for road construction projects, and from time to time the chief has worked a detail rather than let it go unfilled. Mr. Gambaccini said the union has not filed grievances against the chief’s details, and many details have gone unfilled.

“I find it hard to believe that board members have not driven by the chief working a detail, waved to the chief and have the chief wave back,” said Mr. Gambaccini. “This seems to be a whole lot of smoke for something that has been simmering for 19 years.”

Beyond the allegations themselves, Mr. Gambaccini said, he has some concerns about how the matter has been handled. Specifically, he said the letter to the chief outlining the charges is addressed to Mr. Ryan, as opposed to Chief Ryan. Mr. Gambaccini said the lack of the title “to me is an implicit slap.”

He added that other public statements made by Ms. McCutcheon imply that the board’s mind has already been made up.

“In reality, the same three members of the board that will serve as judges are the same members who already decided to place him on administrative leave, and have said the charges have merit,” said Mr. Gambaccini, adding that an arbitrator could be requested to ensure fairness.

Ms. McCutcheon has been quoted as saying there will be no change of venue or arbitrator.

Mr. Jenkins said the hearing will be much like a trial and will be conducted before the Board of Selectmen. Chief Ryan has the right to choose whether the hearing is conducted in public or behind closed doors. Each side will produce evidence and witnesses.

“Chief Ryan is adamant to have these proceedings in public,” said Mr. Gambaccini.  

March 12, 2006

A life in the small town spotlight: A look back at the extraordinary highs and lows of a local law enforcement legend

By: RUSS OLIVO, Staff Writer, Woonsocket call

MILLVILLE - As he sits on the grassy shoulder of Route 122 near "Dead Man's Curve," the Boy Scout with a mop-like head of hair reminiscent of Beaver Cleaver holds a pen in his outstretched hand, beseeching passersby to sign his petition drive to repair the road.

The boy is just 13 years old and the death of his best friend in a car crash at the notorious site has prompted him to gather signatures in support of his cause.

Photographed at the site of the fatal wreck for a 1975 newspaper story, the image of the politically precocious boy is a dramatic reminder of a neglected driving hazard that someone - the adults, perhaps - should have addressed a long time ago.

Even as a boy, Police Chief Timothy P. Ryan seemed destined for the spotlight.

And it never burned more uncomfortably hot than it did this week when the Board of Selectmen placed Ryan and two other police officers, including his brother, James, on administrative leave pending a still-unscheduled disciplinary hearing on charges which, so far, remain shrouded in secrecy.

Speculation about the cause of the suspension has focused on Ryan's handling of a feud among neighbors, his failure to stop employees from gossiping about local love affairs and payback for his minor role in the out-of-town arrest of Selectman Kenneth Gikas for domestic assault. Ryan's lawyers say small-town politics is driving the disciplinary action, but selectmen have shrugged off those accusations.
For Ryan, it's another spell of stormy weather in what has often been a tempestuous career.

Bolstered by his boyhood image as an unusually civic-minded child, Ryan sailed into the role of policeman at 21 years old, rising to chief fewer than four years later - the youngest-ever in Massachusetts at the time.

But, as longtime residents know, Ryan has often appeared to be struggling to hold onto his job, fending off political antagonists, internal departmental strife and irate residents.

"He always had problems," says Highway Surveyor John Dean, a longtime observer of local political affairs. "It's always been rocky."

From the beginning, Dean said, "a lot of people were against him because they just thought he was too young to be police chief."

If Ryan's public debut as the grieving pal-turned-government activist was an inspiring story when he was 13, it was just the beginning. By the time he was 17, his efforts to call attention to the snake-like ribbon of road where his friend, Peter Johnson, was killed, had earned him the coveted rank of Eagle Scout, an honor both of his brothers had earned before him.

Moved by the young Ryan's efforts, then State Rep. Richard T. Moore (now a state senator) sponsored a measure to finance long-overdue repairs to the road. In 1979, when

Gov. Edward King signed the measure into law, Ryan, clad in his Boy Scout uniform, was peering over the governor's shoulder at the Statehouse, ready to receive the ceremonial pen as a souvenir from King to mark the occasion.
Tim Ryan's star was rising fast.

AFTER graduating from Blackstone-Millville Regional High School, Ryan worked for the Polytop bottle-top factory in nearby North Smithfield, but he would soon be studying law enforcement at the Community College of Rhode Island in Lincoln.

He was appointed as a patrolman for the Millville Police Department on Dec. 20, 1983, at the age of 21. Marking the occasion, former Selectman John McNamara hailed Ryan's "visibility and activity" in the community, saying he "enjoys a fine reputation and tremendous respect among area police departments."

He was the kind of person the town fathers could rally behind when, less than four years later, they were looking for another police chief with a well-groomed image. After all, it had been quite embarrassing to learn that the longtime head of the department, former Chief Philip M. Walsh, had been driving around for the last 15 years without a license - nine of them as the town's police chief.

At the age of 25, Ryan was sworn in as chief of the department on July 6, 1987. He was the youngest police chief ever appointed in Massachusetts at the time, according to the Massachusetts Association of Chiefs of Police.

But there were already signs of trouble.

Sgt. Homer Marchand, who outranked Ryan and who had served the department longer, appeared to be next in the line of succession to the chief's post. When Ryan leapfrogged over him, Marchand promptly resigned.

In 1990, the tremors of unrest within the department had begun to rattle in the political arena. Up for a three-year renewal of his appointment, the selectmen split on the issue, 2-1. The dissenting member, Elizabeth Bowen, accused Ryan, among other things, of "a lack of maturity" and a "misuse of his authority."

With Bowen's son facing drug charges the department had helped bring, she herself seemed vulnerable to an appearance of bias. But her remarks would soon come back to haunt Ryan.

IF BOWEN'S opinion could be dismissed for its lack of objectivity, the selectmen would soon go on a shopping spree for one that wasn't quite so easy to ignore. They found it in Charles D. Hale, a law enforcement consultant for the Massachusetts Municipal Association. The town hired the firm to examine the problems simmering within the police department.

Hale's report later that year sent shock waves through the police department. While the consultant faulted the chief for such housekeeping foibles as failing to properly maintain police cruisers and poor communications skills, the most damning conclusions of all were summed up in a few razor-edged phrases which cut directly into the chief.

Ryan, Hale concluded, "was not prepared by either training or experience to accept the responsibilities of the position when he was appointed to it." The report lacerated Ryan's management style, observing that he was "quick to criticize but rarely compliments an officer for a job well done." The best he could say about Ryan was that he "freely admits some of his failings" and seemed "sincerely interested" in correcting them.

It was while Ryan was under a 90-day order to implement the recommendations of the report that Ryan endured the Board of Selectmen's first of two efforts to sanction him as chief. In May 1991, Ryan was suspended without pay briefly for using profanity to berate another member of the department while, in plain view of children and other passersby, the officer had been working a road detail.

Though Ryan survived the political onslaught, the lesson of his scrape with the vagaries of public life apparently left an impression on him. Soon, the scion of a politically-connected family would use his clout and popularity to obtain a measure of insulation against small-town politics.

In January 1993, Gov. William Weld signed into a law a measure granting Ryan tenure, a type of job security akin to civil service, but not as strong. Despite 4-1 opposition by the Board of Selectmen, former Rep. Moore and former

Sen. Louis Bertonazzi introduced the measure in the legislature after the move was approved by townspeople on the warrant of a town meeting.

WHILE the local myth is that Ryan cannot be fired, the protections of the tenure bill are hardly so sweeping, according to town counsel David Jenkins, a lawyer hired by the selectmen to handle the disciplinary procedures against the suspended policemen. Though the intent of the bill was to make Ryan chief for an unlimited period of time, it also provides for his removal for "just cause."

In March 1997, Ryan came under criticism when a 70-foot tree fell on a school bus and no public safety vehicle was dispatched to the scene. Jimmy Berard, the police dispatcher, fielded a report of the incident at headquarters, where he and Ryan were the only two people in the station at the time.

The episode still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, says Berard, who attributes friction with the chief arising from the incident as the cause of him quitting. When Berard took the tree report, Ryan, he said, was busy booking a prisoner on a domestic assault charge. The information came in on an emergency line, and when he relayed it to Ryan, the chief answered, "Okay, I'm going."

But he never did, said Berard, who suggests that the chief could have easily secured the prisoner temporarily to leave the station.

Berard, who maintains he did his job correctly, says he ended up taking the blame and losing his footing on the path toward a law enforcement career. Ryan, he said, removed him from the work schedule, forcing him to seek other work while he cared for his parents, both of whom were disabled. Today, Berard, 39, is a loss prevention officer for Best Buy in Framingham.

Berard says Ryan is often perceived as a "kind" and "generous" person, but the bus episode laid bare a pattern of workplace behavior that he maintains is behind the department's high turnover and internal strife. The chief, he said, "has a dark side where he doesn't want to fail or look poorly in the eyes of other people."

"He really hung me out to dry," said Berard. "I had to walk with my head hanging down but looking back on it I did nothing wrong. It really did derail my career. I wanted to go into law enforcement and he's the one that could have made that happen. He basically threw me away because he didn't want to take accountability."

Echoes of Berard's criticism reverberate on Masspolice.com, a chat room for cops, some of whom say they have worked for the department. Dozens of comments about the Millville police department appear on the Web site, many of them unflattering slings about the work environment, if not about the chief himself.

"The man is an unreasonable person that no one on the planet could possible (sic) get along with," says one contributor. "The town has gone through more cops than any town in Mass."

Yet there are many people in town who see Ryan as a loyal, hard-working police officer who has done much to raise the department's professional profile.

"I've known him since he was a kid," said John Molony, a former selectman and on-call policeman who now lives in Pennsylvania. "I remember him as the young man who was the first professional police officer the town has ever had.

The guy could have gone a lot of places and done a lot of things, but he stayed and worked for relatively low wages in the town of Millville."

Molony said he was "outraged" by the Board of Selectman's treatment of the chief, calling it "almost un-American" to suspend him before laying out a bill of particular charges.
Efforts to reach Ryan for comment on this story yielded nothing but busy signals on his home telephone.

In June 2000, Ryan was suspended yet again by the Board of Selectmen, this time for three days without pay. The incident in question involved a man who had collapsed in his yard, and later died after it took more than 20 minutes for help to arrive.

POLICE learned of the incident from another man who walked into the station to report the information, including apparently erroneous details about the victim's location.

As police and rescue vehicles wasted precious minutes searching for him, the man who initially reported the incident was allowed to leave the station and subsequently became unavailable for further questioning.

While no formal charges have yet been lodged against Ryan or the other police officers suspended last Tuesday, the latest suspension could be the most disruptive of his career. No one is predicting how it will turn out, but

Selectman Chairwoman Diane O. McCutcheon said last week that she didn't expect disciplinary hearings to begin for at least three to four weeks.

Jenkins, the town counsel, told reporters he wasn't expecting them to take place for two or three months.

Ryan may still be the chief, at least technically. But with the state police in charge of the station for the foreseeable future, it will be the first time in many years that the Millville Police Department will feel, at least, like Ryan is no longer the town's top cop.

March 9, 2006

Mystery clouds chief’s suspension

RUSS OLIVO, Staff Writer, Woonsocket call

MILLVILLE -- Suspended Chief Timothy P. Ryan’s handling of a long-running feud among neighbors may be one of multiple issues that led the Board of Selectmen to place him and two other officers on administrative leave, the chief acknowledged yesterday.

But the 43-year-old, 22-year veteran of the Police Department said he and his lawyers are still waiting for the selectmen to spell out the reasons for his sudden suspension Wednesday night. 

"We have not seen any written complaints to see what this is all about," said Ryan. "We’ve asked and been denied."

Ryan and his brother, Patrolman James Ryan, 45, another department veteran, have been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of a still- unscheduled disciplinary hearing on unspecified charges. A third, on-call officer, Gerald Millette, was unassigned, following a brief closed-door meeting with the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night, according to Diane McCutcheon, the board’s chairperson.

Yesterday, McCutcheon, flanked by members of the State Police, confirmed the suspensions but provided few other details as she read from a prepared statement during a press briefing at the Longfellow Municipal Center. A throng of reporters filled the selectmen’s chambers to capture the event, a rare gathering of the media in this usually quiet village.

McCutcheon assured residents that troopers would be assigned to the nine-member department to shore up manpower for as long as needed -- which could be a while. No disciplinary hearings involving the officers are currently scheduled and none will be for at least "three to four weeks," she said.

McCutcheon said the cause of the suspensions focused on four complaints, from "citizens, employees and former employees," fielded by selectmen since September. She declined to reveal any specifics, however, and she dismissed the notion that "small-town politics" is driving the disciplinary action against the officers.

"The fact that it’s politics is ridiculous, because it’s just not true," said McCutcheon.

In a telephone interview after the press briefing, a shaken Ryan said the suspension took him by surprise.

It happened during a brief, private meeting with the town’s legal counsel, David Jenkins, and three members of the Board of Selectmen, Tuesday night at the Longfellow Municipal Center, he said. After the officials summarily informed him of the purpose of the meeting, Ryan said they accompanied him to the nearby police station to surrender his badge, gun, cell phone and cruiser keys.

"After all these years of service, to be treated like that, I’ve never been more dehumanized than to be escorted over to my police station and be stripped of my gun and badge in front of my own employees," said Ryan. "I even had to get a ride home. They took my cruiser."

The only selectmen present for the suspension meeting were McCutcheon, Paul Savage and Tom Petrowicz. Citing potential conflicts, McCutcheon said Ken Gikas and Brian Dicks did not participate, but she declined to elaborate.

The notion that Ryan’s handling of a dispute among neighbors is at the root of the episode surfaced with John Collins Jr., the legal counsel for the Massachusetts Association of Chiefs of Police, in Worcester. Collins said he does not represent Ryan, but has been "monitoring" the chief’s evolving conflict with the selectmen for the last "four to six months."

Collins said the selectmen are also upset that the chief failed to stop members of his own department from discussing the supposed romantic liaisons of police officers who work in other towns.

Regarding the neighbor dispute, Collins accused the selectmen of meddling in Ryan’s investigation of a vandalism complaint lodged by one of the warring parties against the other. Though he was not legally obliged to do so, said Collins, Ryan eventually acceded to the demands of the selectmen, turning over to the officials investigative records of the case.

One bone of contention was Ryan’s decision to record the parties after calling them to the police station late one night to give statements. At least one of the aggrieved neighbors complained to a selectmen, said Collins.

Ryan, who has been briefly suspended twice previously as chief, was appointed to the position in July 1987, when he was just 25 years old. After gaining state tenure later on, Ryan can now only be fired for "just cause," but Collins said that even if selectmen determine that Ryan did the things suggested by the factual record, the requirement for termination would not be satisfied.

"I expect that’s what’s going to happen in Millville, that people are going to finally wake up and say, ‘This is stupid,’" he said. "I don’t think taping people in the police station late at night constitutes any kind of clear and present danger. It’s kind of silly. The chief will come out of this just fine."

But Jenkins, the town’s legal counsel, excoriated Collins for talking out of school. While Jenkins declined to provide any insight into the nature of the charges, Jenkins said that Collins is not only without legal standing to speak for Ryan, but he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

"This is inaccurate information given to you by a person who has nothing to do with the investigation," said Jenkins. "He’s been monitoring nothing. He doesn’t know what a single person in any interview has said."

But Jenkins declined to clarify any of the alleged inaccuracies in Collins’ remarks, saying he is ethically constrained from revealing details about possible charges at this point in the probe.

Though the MACP is paying for Ryan’s defense, the lawyer who represents the chief is Andrew Gambacinni of the Worcester firm Reardon Joyce Akerson. Gambacinni declined to go into the specifics of the case, saying he hasn’t been informed of any yet, but he added, "There are, I believe, some issues related to small-town politics."

Moreover, he said, from a procedural standpoint, town officials have treated Ryan shabbily. The town, he said, should have held disciplinary hearings to determine whether there is cause to substantiate possible administrative charges before suspending him. Instead, he said, the suspension has come before an evaluation of the evidence.

"Someone in that position, and in that length of service, should be afforded a measure of respect that he hasn’t been afforded so far," he said.

Meanwhile, during yesterday’s press briefing, State Police Major Martha Catalano of the Holden barracks said Lt. Sean Baxter of Troop C, based in Grafton, will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Millville Police Department.

Baxter, along with Trooper Lt. Carl MacKnight, have been assigned to fill in most of the shifts which would have been covered by Ryan and the other officers placed on leave, said Catalano. The department will also provide any supervisory or support personnel the department needs to maintain a full complement of patrols through the manpower crunch.

Including Ryan and a full-time police officer currently enrolled in the academy, the department has five full-time officers, plus four part-timers.

"We will be here for however long they need us," said Catalano.

Trooper Sharon Costine, a spokeswoman for the State Police, stressed that the agency was "not coming in to take over the town of Millville. We’re just here to assist the town." Providing such assistance to smaller towns is a normal part of the agency’s mission, she said.

If the suspensions have led some to question the integrity of the Police Department, McCutcheon said she was optimistic that the crisis is merely temporary.

"Millville has always been a community that sticks together," she said. "This is just a bump for Millville, but we intend to get through this."

March 9, 2006

By Steven H. Foskett Jr. TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

MILLVILLE— Town officials at a press conference yesterday offered few details about allegations against Police Chief Timothy P. Ryan and two other members of the force that prompted the Board of Selectmen to relieve the officers of their duties and request assistance from the state police in running the department.

Chief Ryan; his brother, Sgt. James Ryan; and Officer Gerald Millette were placed on administrative leave Tuesday night by a vote of selectmen, meeting in executive session.

Yesterday, state police officials announced they will be temporarily taking control of the department, and will supplement the small department with regular patrols.

“The state police will assist by providing patrols and supervisory personnel,” said Massachusetts State Police Maj. Martha A. Catalano, commander of state police Troop C Headquarters in Holden.

Maj. Catalano said state police Lt. Sean M. Baxter, also of Troop C, will be the supervising officer of the department while the town completes its investigation of the allegations. She said residents should not notice any interruption of police service. She said Lt. Carl MacKnight from the Grafton barracks provided coverage of the department last night.

March 9, 2006

Chief out, troopers take reins in Millville

SARA WITHEE (MILFORD DAILY NEWS) Boston Herald (MA)

MILLVILLE - The state is picking up the tab to command the Millville Police Department now that the chief has been tossed out of office after residents complained about his force.

Yesterday's emergency intervention by state police hasn't been trotted out for almost a decade.

Complaints from residents prompted selectmen to oust Chief Timothy Ryan and replace him with troopers.

The public banning has left the chief steaming.

"I have never felt more dehumanized than I have in my whole career here, to be paraded over to the police station and stripped of my badge in front of my employees," Ryan said yesterday.

The chief has been placed on paid administrative leave amid unspecified written complaints.

Ryan, 43, his hometown's police chief since 1987, was placed on leave Tuesday night along with his brother, part-time Sgt. James Ryan and full-time officer Gerald Millette, Selectmen Chairman Diane McCutcheon said yesterday at a news conference.

She denied allegations that politics fueled the move.

"That it's politics is ridiculous," she said.

The vote followed an investigation by Kopelman & Paige, Millville's town counsel, into four written complaints from residents, employees and former employees since September 1995, McCutcheon said.

The state police last took over a town's police department in Spencer in 1997, said Lt. Sharon Costine.

McCutcheon promised the tiny town of 3,000 that public safety will not suffer.

"Millville has always been a community that sticks together," she said.

March 9, 2006

SUSPENSIONS OF 2 OFFICERS, POLICE CHIEF, RATTLE MILLVILLE

Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff and Michael Levenson, Globe Correspondent

MILLVILLE It might be the biggest news to hit Millville since the stock market crash of 1929 devastated the US Rubber Co., then the main employer in this quiet wooded village at the Rhode Island border.

Without explanation, the Board of Selectmen has suspended Police Chief Timothy Ryan, who has patrolled for the last 23 years, as well as his brother, Sergeant James Ryan, and a young patrolman, Gerald Millette.

Residents in the town of 2,700 are stunned, befuddled, and angry. State Police have stepped in to run daily police operations in Millville, the first time the agency has run a local department since 1997.

Town officials have refused to say what's ailing the Millville police, but a lawyer for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association says much of the strife stems from a broken fence and an unusual midnight interrogation to determine who broke it. One of those grilled in the investigation turned out to be the friend of a selectman, said the lawyer, David M. Collins. The friend complained, and the board retaliated.

"It's a power struggle," Collins said yesterday. "The chief has a very strong personality, and the Board of Selectmen basically wanted to clip his wings."

Collins said Chief Ryan was trying to resolve a "Hatfield- McCoy" type dispute between two neighbors. He tape- recorded the interview, photographed the fence, and wrote a report. But when the board found out, it hired a Boston lawyer, David C. Jenkins, to investigate whether the chief had acted appropriately, Collins said.

The board asked Chief Ryan for his reports on the incident, Collins said. Ryan initially refused, then agreed to turn them over, after the board threatened to fire him, Collins said.

The message, Collins said, was clear: "Hey, come on, this is a nice town. We're not going to have you hauling people to the department every time someone has an argument."

There are also suggestions among townspeople, Collins said, that police are gossiping about an extramarital affair between two local residents. Residents blamed Chief Ryan for not doing enough to stop his officers from gossiping, he said.

On Tuesday, meeting behind closed doors in Millville town hall, the Board of Selectmen took a bold step: Members voted 3 to 0 to suspend Chief Ryan and Millette with pay and Sergeant Ryan without pay, because he works part time in an insurance agency.

Diane O. McCutcheon, chairwoman of the board, told the Globe yesterday the town had received four complaints about the police since last September, some from the town's current and former employees.

She declined to detail the complaints, saying the matter was still under review. Jenkins, the town's lawyer, disputed Collins's account, but declined to elaborate.

In Millville a bedroom community on the banks of the Blackstone River, 43 miles southwest of Boston residents are mystified. No one can figure out what is going on.

"I think they've got everybody in Millville expecting the worst," said Leonard Desjardins, a former selectman. He wondered if the problem was "just small-town politics."

"I think the selectmen should be upfront," Desjardins said, as he stood outside the town post office yesterday. "They've got everybody in Millville guessing all kinds of things."

"Everybody's hush-hush about it," said a man sitting at the bar at the Pot Belly Pub who declined to give his name. "I have no idea what's going on."

Beverly Crosby, a resident of 25 years, said she knows Chief Ryan. She was shocked by the suspension. "I can't believe he would do something wrong," she said.

Because of the suspensions, Millville has only five officers now, two full-time. Crime is minimal here: There were no homicides, and only nine violent crimes in 2003. A recent crime-fighting initiative called for police to crack down on children riding scooters on the sidewalk. State Police are not sure how long they will have to be on the Millville beat, but are not expecting a heavy load.

"I asked, `How many calls a day do you get?' " said State Police Lieutenant Sharon S. Costine, recalling a conversation she had with Millville officers yesterday. "They said, how many calls a week do we get. It's a pretty small town."

Ryan, 43, a burly, outgoing man who joined the force when he was 21 and rose to chief two years later, said he knew he was in trouble when he showed up for the selectmen's meeting Tuesday night. State Police troopers were outside town hall. Later, a town official confronted him.

"I was asked to surrender my gun, my badge, my keys, my cruiser," said Ryan who declined to provide more details. "I had to get a ride home from my lawyer."

Yesterday, he sat shoeless on his porch, on a hill above Millville, looking down on the streets he patrolled for nearly half his life. He said he wanted his old job back.

"I guess all you can do," he said, "is hang out and wait."

Kathleen Burge can be reached at kburge@globe.com.

March 8, 2006

Millville chief, officers put on leave
Selectmen probe complaints on Police Dept.

By Donna Boynton TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

MILLVILLE— The Massachusetts State Police has taken over operations of the Millville Police Department after Police Chief Timothy P. Ryan and two other police officers were placed on paid administrative leave last night, pending an investigation.

Diane McCutcheon, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said the selectmen voted in executive session last night to place the officers on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation. Ms. McCutcheon would not identify the other two police officers.

She said selectmen are scheduling hearings for the officers.

The Police Department has a staff of nine officers. With the removal of the three officers, six officers remain, Ms. McCutcheon said.

State police did not immediately return a phone call late last night seeking comment.

Chief Ryan could not be reached for comment last night.

Ms. McCutcheon said selectmen have received four written complaints since September from citizens, town employees and former employees regarding the operation of the Police Department.

She said that based on those complaints and the concerns of the board, the selectmen instructed town counsel Kopelman & Paige to conduct an investigation.

“On the basis of the report, we voted to relieve the three members of the Police Department of duty,” Ms. McCutcheon said. She added that the town has made arrangements with the state police to take over the Police Department to ensure protection of the public.

Ms. McCutcheon said more information would be released at a press conference this morning.

Chief Ryan has been police chief since 1988. He joined the department nine years before being named chief.

The Police Department has a staff of nine officers, including Chief Ryan. Six officers remain, and state troopers will fill in the gaps, Maj. Catalano said.

Diane McCutcheon, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, did not elaborate on the nature of the allegations. She said that around September, the town received four written complaints about the operation of the department from citizens and current and former town employees.

Based on those complaints, selectmen instructed town counsel, Kopelman & Paige, to investigate. The results of that investigation prompted Tuesday night’s decision to remove Chief Ryan, Sgt. Ryan and Officer Millette.

She said the town is committed to coming to a fair conclusion of the matter, and said hearings for the three officers may be scheduled in coming weeks. She characterized the notion that the board’s move was politically motivated as ridiculous.

Officer Millette could not be reached for comment yesterday. Sgt. Ryan did not respond to a telephone message left at his home. Chief Ryan said he could not comment on the specifics of the investigation, and referred questions to his lawyer, Andrew J. Gambaccini of the Worcester law firm of Reardon, Joyce and Akerson.

Mr. Gambaccini said yesterday he has not received official notice from the town regarding the allegations against Chief Ryan, but said he was concerned with how the situation had unfolded.

He declined to speak about any specific allegations, but said that from his initial impressions, it appeared to be an administrative matter. He said the move to bring in the state police was overkill, and said Chief Ryan should have been afforded more respect because of his long service to the town.

“It was an undeserved seriousness,” Mr. Gambaccini said.

Chief Ryan said he was aware that he was being placed on administrative leave, and that he had been in contact with his brother.

“I will say, this is the first time in my 23 years at the department I’ve been placed on administrative leave,” the chief said.

Chief Ryan, who lives in town, was promoted to chief in 1988.

Ms. McCutcheon said Sgt. Ryan is a part-time employee, and that Chief Ryan does not work under a contract with the town. She said Officer Millette is a full-time officer.

March 8, 2006

Chief put on leave

JOSEPH B. NADEAU, Staff Writer, Woonsocket call

MILLVILLE -- Massachusetts State Police officers will be running the Police Department today after the Board of Selectmen last night voted to place Police Chief Timothy P. Ryan, his brother, Sgt. James Ryan, and another police officer on administrative leave pending an investigation of complaints brought against the department.

The action came after three members of the selectmen met with the Police Department members in executive session at the Longfellow Municipal Center.  

A prepared statement issued after the meeting stated Ryan, a 22-year department veteran, and two unidentified members of the department were placed on administrative leave pending "the outcome of any disciplinary action to be

taken by the board."

Selectmen Chairperson Diane O. McCutcheon, reading from the statement, said that since September 2005, the board has received four written complaints from "citizens, employees and former employees of the town regarding the operation of the police department."

The board in turn instructed the Town Counsel, Kopelman and Paige of Boston, to conduct an investigation of the complaints and based on counsel’s report to the Selectmen "the town as voted to relieve the three members of the department of their official duties."

"The Board is committed to bringing this matter to a conclusion that is prompt and fair to all those involved," the panel’s statement noted.

McCutcheon declined to go into specifics of the complaints brought to the board "because of all of that is pending the outcome of a hearing."

All three of officers involved appeared before the Selectmen during the executive session before the suspensions were issued, McCutcheon said.

Ryan and another full-time member of the department were placed on paid leave, she said, and the third department member, a part-timer, on unassigned leave which is in effect without pay.

State Police Major Martha Catalano of the Grafton Barracks was in charge of the police station Tuesday night, McCutcheon said, and State Police were expected to announce today how the eight-member department would operate under the state agency’s management.

In addition to McCutcheon, sitting in on the executive session were Selectmen Tome Petrowicz and Paul Savage. Selectmen Brian Dicks and Ken Gikas did not participate over possible conflicts, she noted.

McCutcheon would not say whether the vote was unanimous or a majority poll of the members present.

"I can’t answer any more questions," McCutcheon said while declining further comment on matter.

Attempts to reach Chief Ryan were unsuccessful Tuesday night.

Ryan’s mother, Mary Ryan, a well-known local resident, said she couldn’t talk about specifics of the case but would express her anger with the Selectmen over their handing of the matter.

"I am very upset, I am," Ryan said. Ryan identified her son, James, a 25-member of the department, as also on leave after the hearing.

"I am so upset, my two boys," she said. "They are wonderful young men."

Ryan pointed to local politics as being behind the hearing, saying "the politics in this town are so awful. Police jobs are tough enough and yet to you have to put up with politics," she said.

She also promised a strong fight by the family to answer any complaints. "I hope it costs the town thousands of dollars in legal fees," she said.

March 8, 2006

State police take control of Millville police department

By Steven H. Foskett Jr. TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

MILLVILLE— Town officials at a press conference this morning offered few details about allegations against Police Chief Timothy P. Ryan and two other members of the force that have prompted the Board of Selectmen to relieve the officers of their duties and request assistance from the state police in running the department.

Chief Ryan; his brother, Sgt. James Ryan; and Officer Gerald Millette were placed on administrative leave last night by an executive session vote of the Board of Selectmen.

This morning, state police officials announced that they will be temporarily taking control of the department, and will supplement the small department with regular patrols.

“The state police will assist by providing patrols and supervisory personnel,” said Massachusetts State Police Maj. Martha A. Catalano, commander of the state police Troop C headquarters in Holden.

Maj. Catalano said state police Lt. Sean M. Baxter, also out of Troop C, will be the supervising officer of the department as long as it takes the town to complete its investigation of the allegations. She said residents should not notice any interruption of police service. She said Lt. Carl MacKnight from the Grafton barracks provided coverage of the department last night after Chief Ryan, Sgt. Ryan, and Officer Millette were placed on leave.

The Police Department has a staff of nine officers, including Chief Ryan. Six officers remain, and state troopers will fill in those gaps, Maj. Catalano said.

Diane McCutcheon, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, did not elaborate on the nature of the allegations. She said that some time around Sept. 2005, the town received four written complaints about the operation of the department made by residents, town employees, and former town employees.

Based on those complaints, selectmen instructed town counsel Kopelman & Paige to launch an investigation. The results of that investigation prompted last night’s decision to remove Chief Ryan, Sgt. Ryan, and Officer Millette.

She said the town is committed to coming to a fair conclusion of the matter, and said hearings for the three officers may be scheduled in the coming weeks. She characterized the notion that the board’s move was politically motivated as ridiculous.

Officer Millette could not immediately be reached for comment this afternoon. Sgt. Ryan did not immediately respond to a telephone message left at his home. Chief Ryan said this morning he could not comment on the allegations, and referred questions to his lawyer, Andrew J. Gambaccini.

Mr. Gambaccini did not immediately respond to a phone message left for him at his office.

The chief said he was aware that he was being placed on administrative leave, and said he had been in contact with his brother.

“I will say, this is the first time in my 23 years at the department I’ve been placed on administrative leave,” the chief said. Chief Ryan, who lives in town, was promoted to chief in 1988.

Ms. McCutcheon said Sgt. Ryan is a part-time employee, and said Chief Ryan does not currently work under a contract with the town. She said Officer Millette is a full-time officer.

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