BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) – The police chief in Brattleboro, under fire over his handling of an incident in which two non-violent protesters were stunned with a Taser, has been fired.

The town’s Selectboard voted 3-2 Wednesday to terminate John Martin, a 31-year veteran of the Brattleboro department who had been chief since 2001.

Interim Town Manager Barbara Sondag announced Martin’s firing Thursday after a closed-door meeting of the board.

The move follows the recent release of a report by a consultant to the town that was sharply critical of the chief.

“The police department is shown to be in a condition that must be termed dysfunctional. Morale is manifestly low. Officers are uncertain of the lines of authority, are confused by the way authority is exercised,” the majority of board members said.

Martin had been put on administrative leave last month, pending disciplinary hearings. Sondag said he failed to provide effective leadership to the department.

Martin was accused of failing to provide accurate information about his knowledge and leadership in the Taser incident July 24.

Internal dissension at the department has been accompanied by rocky relations with some in the community. Many local residents were upset when town officers fatally shot a distraught man who was threatening himself with a knife inside a church in 2001. Officers said Robert Woodward, 37, lunged at them with the knife, but several witnesses disputed that.

AP-ES-11-02-07 1759EDT