Former Bethel Police Chief Darren Tripp has been ordered to reimburse the town more than $6,000 in court costs after a judge ruled that his $500,000 lawsuit was not legitimate.

Tripp sued Bethel after he was suspended, and later fired. For two years, he has tried to force his way back into his job, to punish his old boss, Town Manager Scott Cole, and to reap financial gain from the city’s residents.

Those efforts have failed at every step of the way.

What the courts found was that Tripp’s dismissal was legal and that he had no grounds to go forward with his claims. The case was heard at both the state and federal level, and the verdicts were essentially the same.

Cole decided, with evidence to support him, that Tripp wasn’t a very good police chief. Tripp, no doubt, was angered and hurt. But this odyssey should now be over. Further litigation seems pointless, a lost cause, and could only be judged as harassment.

Finally, Bethel should be able to escape Tripp’s shadow.