Darren M. Tripp’s attorney says it is the town manager who should be kicked out.
BETHEL – Town Manager Scott Cole fired Police Chief Darren M. Tripp shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday, declining to give a reason.
Cole issued a brief press release and said Tripp has five working days in which to file an appeal.
A hearing would then be scheduled and it would be Tripp’s choice whether it was public or not.
Because the firing was a managerial action, if Tripp appeals, it would be to the Board of Selectmen.
Tripp deferred comment Thursday afternoon to his attorney, Thomas S. Carey of Rumford, who is handling Tripp’s pending lawsuit against Cole and the Town of Bethel.
That suit seeks to recover fees stemming from Cole’s 33-day paid suspension of Tripp last March, and an unspecified amount for emotional and physical problems caused by Cole’s conduct. It was filed in December in U.S. District Court in Portland.
After terminating Tripp’s employment, Cole enacted a joint plan between the Bethel Police Department and Oxford County Sheriff’s Office in Paris to provide law enforcement coverage over the interim.
That plan “is now in place to provide the Bethel community with effective and quality police service over the next four to six weeks, during which time, new departmental leadership will be identified,” Cole said.
“As always, police emergencies should be reported to 9-1-1, and routine police business directed to 800-733-1421,” the Oxford County dispatching service, he added.
The surprise move reduced the town’s four-member, full-time police force to one patrolman, Charles Beal, who was hired last summer, and a contingent of reserve officers. The two other positions are vacant.
“I’m confidant with our reserves component and interim service from the Sheriff’s Office, that we will retain quality police coverage,” Cole added.
The news stunned municipal employees and members of town committees who were working in the town office Thursday. It also came as a surprise to Tripp’s attorney.
“I think that Scott Cole’s decision was a bad one, for which there has to be consequences,” Carey said Thursday afternoon.
“It’s time for Scott Cole to go. I think that the Town of Bethel deserves something better. They have, they had a fine police chief and I think you’ll find people here that do agree with that statement,” Carey added.
Asked if Cole notified selectmen of his plan to fire Tripp, board Chairman Harry H. Dresser Jr. said, “Indications were that this was the way Scott’s decision was going, but I recall that no direct statement was made that he intended to fire Chief Tripp.”
He said because selectmen, by ordinance, act as the appeals board on personnel matters, he could not say much about the firing.
“The dismissal of the Bethel chief of police is a personnel matter within purview of the town manager,” he said late Thursday afternoon. “It is not the role of elected officials to be directly involved in the management of town employees beyond the town manager.”
“Since the manager’s action is subject to appeal before the Board of Selectmen should the chief choose that course, I, and I presume, the other selectmen, have stayed purposefully distant from the issue at hand to ensure that our review at appeal is as objective as possible,” Dresser added.
Tripp joined the Bethel Police Department in 1989 and became chief in 1998. Until he was suspended on March 17, Tripp had never been subject to a disciplinary action.
Cole was hired as town manager in 1999.
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