FARMINGTON — Farmington Police Department Lt. Jack Peck gave the Board of Selectmen an update Tuesday on Chief Richard Caton III who has been out on medical leave since earlier this spring.
Caton, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008, has kept the disease under control with medication until this past February.
After a round of chemotherapy and radiation, Caton underwent a bone marrow transplant in April, Peck told the board.
“His spirits are high … but physically he has a ways to go,” Peck said, while relaying Caton’s appreciation to the public for the support he and his family have received through cards, calls, visits, flowers and emotional support for his family.
With an expected year-long medical leave, Caton is healing and building his immune system and hopes to be able to make that time shorter by returning to work later this year. He has served as police chief in Farmington for 12 years.
In other business, the department has been awarded a $6,200 federal Justice Assistance Grant and Peck sought the board’s approval to submit the department’s proposal by Aug. 1 to purchase four rifles for $1,000 each.
The funds are available but the department needs to propose what it intends to do with the funding to ensure it falls within the grant’s parameters, said Detective Marc Bowering on Thursday. The department is seeking cost estimates and still determining what type of rifle to purchase.
While Farmington officers carry handguns and shotguns are available, the grant would provide a long rifle for each of the department’s four marked cruisers along with a trunk case for the rifle and training.
A certified trainer is available from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office but there would be some overtime costs due to training, Peck told the board.
The department is the only one in Franklin County that doesn’t have rifles and he expressed concerns that that would limit its ability to respond effectively to some potential incidents.
The board unanimously approved submitting the proposal and purchasing the rifles.
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