NORWAY — Police chiefs in Norway and Oxford said they would be hard pressed to respond to a mutual aid call in Paris if that town did not have an officer on duty. 

Paris voters will decide in June whether to keep their Police Department or contract with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office. The latter would not provide 24/7 coverage, interim Town Manager Sawin Millett said.

“Mutual aid means just that,” Norway Police Chief Rob Federico said. “It needs to be mutual. During the hours there is no one to assist us, there is no mutual aid.”

Federico said he will not risk the safety of his officers or the residents of Norway to assist Paris if there is no officer on duty there.

Oxford Police Chief Jonathan Tibbetts said mutual aid implies that Oxford police would be backing up an officer from another department.

“It is difficult to just say that we would not respond as there are so many variables that may arise in each call but as a rule we would not respond until the deputy called for assistance once they were on scene,” he said in an email Monday.

All three towns share a mutual aid agreement.

“We would not be first responders to a call, unless it was life-threatening, and then it would depend on whether a deputy was en-route or not,” Tibbetts said. “I do not feel that it is up to the citizens of Oxford to provide a service that is not reciprocal nor beneficial to Oxford.”

Tibbetts has also responded to Millett in a letter dated May 3 in which he said, the Oxford Police Department is solely responsible to provide services to the town of Oxford and that mutual aid agreements are used when there is not enough money to hire additional officers as a way to make it a safer work environment for all.

“Mutual aid is dependent on the neighboring police department having an officer first respond to the emergency call and then the Oxford officer would assist them,” Tibbetts said in the letter to Millett.

Federico told selectmen at their meeting May 5 that only one patrol officer is on duty in Norway during the early-morning hours, and he would not be willing to jeopardize the protection of Norway to go to Paris if there were no officer on duty there.

“To take that risk in another town would be foolish for us,” Federico said.

Federico said the mutual aid agreement also calls for the Norway officer to report and work under the supervision and direction of the designating supervisor for the calling town. His officers will only respond if there is a designated supervisor on the scene.

Norway selectmen voted unanimously to support Fedrico’s position.

“If there was no officer in Paris, I would be opposed to our officer going over there,” board Chairman Bruce Cook said.

Oxford selectmen did not address the issue at a recent meeting, Town Clerk Sheila Cole said.

Paris selected voted to cut $500,000 from the proposed 2016-17 budget in response to residents’ cry for tax relief and a subsequent petition submitted by business owner and resident Scott Buffington to cap the town’s tax rate to the state average.

The $500,000 cut included $108,000 from the Police Department budget.

At the Paris selectmen meeting Monday, interim Police Chief Jeffrey Lange confirmed that police from Norway and Oxford will not go into Paris alone to cover an emergency.

“They will not be the first ones in,” Lange said. “They will back up an officer if an officer needs help, but they will not be the first ones in.”

Selectwoman Janet Jamison said Sheriff Wayne Gallant has promised to address the mutual aid situation at the police/sheriff forum Tuesday, May 17.

“The sheriff has a way to address the situation,” Jamison said.

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