The Board of Selectmen were divided on the termination of Darren M. Tripp.
BETHEL – By a 3-2 vote Thursday night, selectmen upheld Town Manager Scott Cole’s Feb. 12 decision to fire Police Chief Darren M. Tripp.
The vote, which came after two hours of fact-finding and deliberations by selectmen, upset several people seated in the bleachers opposite the “courtroom-like” proceedings in Crescent Park School’s gymnasium.
Others applauded the tally.
People in the crowd of about 80 milled about, some expressing anger toward board Chairman Harry Dresser Jr. and Reggie Brown.
Dresser, Brown and Al Barth voted to uphold Cole’s firing of Tripp. Selectmen Don Bennett and Jack Cross voted against it, seeking to reinstate the chief, with perhaps a one-year probationary period.
Others lashed out at Cole, loudly, saying he would next be bringing in Oxford County police officers to replace Bethel’s police force, despite a majority vote last year by residents wanting to keep their local cops.
Bethel Patrolman Charles Beale and other town police officers, who had stood on the basketball court at either end of the bleachers throughout Thursday’s deliberations, sensed the angst and moved closer to the selectmen’s table.
Two Bethel reserve policemen – Nate Wight and Patrick Moore – then strode purposely together toward the table, quickly drawing Beale and other officers in to prevent a possible fracas.
But Wight and Moore simply tossed their badges noisily onto the table in front of Brown and Dresser, turned, as expressions of disgust swept their faces, and strode out of the gym to a smattering of applause and catcalls from the bleachers.
After the decision was read, Haley Tripp, the former police chief’s wife, quickly walked out to stand with her husband, who resignedly and dejectedly, packed up materials in front of him.
Cole showed relatively little emotion, moving off to the side, away from selectmen and the crowd.
While leaving the gym alone, Tripp’s attorney, Thomas S. Carey of Rumford, said he and Tripp would likely regroup and decide their next course of action.
“Darren was very disappointed in their decision,” Carey said. “He’s a home-bred boy here, and he thought his future was here as the town’s police chief.”
“This has been very difficult for Darren, but he has a lot of support here,” he added.
Carey said one option they had is to appeal the majority vote in court within the next 30 days.
“I’ll meet with Darren, and we’ll discuss our options. We need to put things in perspective, because we’re talking about a man’s livelihood,” he added.
Cole, on the other hand, felt vindicated by Thursday night’s decision, saying, “Obviously, I welcome the majority vote of selectmen, but I respect the minority opinion as well.”
“As town manager, I’m responsible for the proper job performance of all town employees, and in this particular case, the termination is justified,” he added.
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