Settlement keeps Ryan on payroll MILLVILLE— For more than half his life, Chief Timothy P. Ryan, 44, has been a police officer for Millville, and now that police work is done.
Chief Ryan, who became a police officer when he was 21 and was sworn in as chief on July 6, 1987 — the youngest police chief ever appointed in Massachusetts at the time — has resigned, effective Dec. 31. Although he will still be on the payroll until then, he will not be involved in any Police Department activities, according to a settlement agreement signed yesterday.
He also will be permitted to go to the FBI’s academy for municipal officers in October. Chief Ryan and town officials did not return phone calls yesterday after the agreement was released.
Chief Ryan, who has been a Millville police officer for 23 years and chief for 19 of them, said in a statement:
“The town and I have agreed to resolve our outstanding differences. As part of this agreement, I will be leaving the Department effective December 31, 2006. During the interim period, I will be pursuing other professional opportunities and will not be involved in Police Department affairs. I wish to express my regret that the town, the Millville Police Department and those persons who filed complaints had to endure this trying period. It is my hope that my departure and this apology will serve to heal rifts caused by these incidents, and I pledge to support the town’s desire to move forward.”
Chief Ryan, who last year served as president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, faced 21 charges from selectmen, including failing to establish written rules, improperly inserting himself into a neighborhood dispute and inappropriately discussing a social service investigation with his officers. State police have been overseeing the day-to-day operations of the department since the chief was placed on leave in March.
Three members of the Board of Selectmen, Diane O. McCutcheon, Paul J. Savage and Thomas J. Petrowicz, voted to suspend Chief Ryan pending a disciplinary hearing.
Sessions of the hearing were held April 20 and May 1, and a third session, scheduled for last Thursday, was canceled. Instead, there was a four-hour executive session in which negotiations took place.
Selectmen Kenneth Gikas and Brian Dicks abstained from the initial vote and did not participate in the hearings and negotiations.
Under the agreement, Chief Ryan’s resignation is not revocable and he may not apply for future employment with the town.
Though the town agreed to pay him through Dec. 31, “Chief Ryan shall have no active or passive role in Police Department affairs and will perform no services on behalf of the Police Department,” according to the agreement.
Further, “Chief Ryan shall not accrue any other benefits during this period, except for pension contributions, and acknowledges that no benefits are on the books. Further, the town will provide reasonable assistance to Chief Ryan’s attendance at the FBI Academy.”
The FBI clause was a central factor in reaching the agreement, Town Counsel David Jenkins said. Chief Ryan has been admitted to the FBI academy for municipal officers in October and had to be a police officer to attend.
“The town wanted to treat him right,” Mr. Jenkins said. “Recognizing that, the town needed to move on.”
The parties also agreed not to say or write anything that would be detrimental to one of them or would damage any reputation.
Mr. Jenkins said the negotiations began at an executive session that lasted for three hours April 29.
At the May 1 session of the hearing, a former Millville police officer testified that he left the Police Department because he was routinely disparaged by Chief Ryan in front of other officers and that the chief made ethnic slurs. The accusations were made by Mendon Sgt. Donald R. Blanchette, who worked as a part-time officer in Millville from 1989 to 1994, and was a full-time officer there from 1994 to 1997. The disciplinary hearing was scheduled to resume last Thursday, but before it started, the board went into the executive session and worked out the agreement.
Chief Ryan’s brother, Sgt. James Ryan, and Officer Gerald Millette also were placed on paid administrative leave April 20. Their disciplinary hearings are still pending. Sgt. Ryan’s hearing is scheduled for May 16 and Officer Millette’s is scheduled for May 23. Mr. Jenkins said neither man has said whether the hearing will be open or closed. Chief Ryan chose to have his hearing in open session.
“The town had to do the right thing by the town, and had to do the right thing by the chief,” Mr. Jenkins said. “It’s time for everyone to move forward.”
Posted by: SinePari
I had to mapquest Millville...didn't even know where it was.
Posted by: Mitpo62
Geepers, that was a nice "separation" package!
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