WEST BOYLSTON – Despite placing the item on their agenda, selectmen Wednesday opted not to discuss the May 17 email Police Chief Dennis Minnich Sr. sent to Worcester health officials regarding COVID-19 business restrictions that some found threatening.
The five-member board met via videoconference Wednesday, and while Chairman Patrick Crowley asked the town administrator to read a statement in which she labeled the matter closed, he did not permit board members to discuss the topic or ask questions.
Crowley told the approximately 15 people on the video call that selectmen could not discuss the matter because it was of a “personnel” nature, noting that Nancy Lucier, the administrator, is the person in town responsible for dealing with employment issues.
The attorney general’s office, which enforces the Open Meeting Law, confirmed to the Telegram & Gazette Thursday that the law does not prohibit certain topics from being discussed in a public meeting.
The text of the law says towns “may” go into executive session – a closed-door meeting - to discuss discipline against employees. It does not say they must.
Lucier said in her statement that the matter was closed after the chief apologized, and Crowley confirmed in an interview Thursday that no further discipline is being contemplated.
Minnich’s apology came after he emailed public health officials and appeared to suggest they might face arrest for trespassing if they attempted to enforce business restrictions that he labeled unconstitutional.
Minnich has told the T&G and numerous other outlets he did not mean the email to be threatening and would assist the Board of Health should they have any safety concerns.
Half a dozen constitutional law experts told the T&G recently that Baker’s business orders appear to pass constitutional muster.
Asked why selectmen wouldn’t be able to share their opinions about Minnich’s comments with the public – especially since no discipline was forthcoming – Crowley replied that the issue is one of liability.
If the town was ever to attempt to discipline the chief in the future, he said, comments the selectmen made in public could be used against them.
Robert W. Harnais, a Quincy lawyer who formerly served as president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, said Thursday that the issue before selectmen seems broader than a personnel issue.
Harnais noted that the incident involved multiple public officials and concerned public policy. He said while selectmen have the right to decline to discuss any topic, that’s not the same as the topic being legally off-limits.
Harnais said that, putting aside the topic of the chief’s conduct, a question he would have were he a business owner is whether the town intends to enforce Baker’s restrictions.
“If I was a private business owner, I’d like to know, is it going to be enforced or not going to be enforced?” he asked.
An email a town official sent to the state Tuesday indicates local health officials are attempting to enforce Baker’s order, and are concerned that the chief’s email could make that difficult.
Margaret Lee, the administrator for the West Boylston Board of Health, told state officials that one business owner had used profanities and refused to stop an activity with which the town’s health officer was concerned.
“As you may have heard, our Police Chief has said he will not provide enforcement and encouraged businesses to open,” Lee wrote. “Unfortunately, I think his statement has enabled the few who claim the Governor’s orders are unconstitutional.
“For instance, we noticed several businesses allowed to open 05/25, actually opened on Friday 05/22.”
The chairman of the Board of Health, Robert Barrell, did not return a phone call Thursday. Lucier wrote in an email that the chief’s comments have not caused issues for public health officials.
John L. Sullivan, a UMass doctor and West Boylston Board of Health member who originally sounded the alarm on the chief’s email, said Thursday that he is disappointed town leaders weren’t vocal about what he sees as a clearly inappropriate email.
Lucier said in her statement that Sullivan, who had initially called for the chief’s firing, thanked her for the “action taken” in the matter.
Asked about that Thursday night, Sullivan replied that while the action taken is not what he would have done, “I knew that was about all we were going to get.
“I think the most important thing out of this has been that he’s lost a lot of respect in the community, and that’s about all we can do,” he said.
Town officials said Thursday that reaction to Minnich’s comments has been about evenly split between people who support his comments and those who do not.
Minnich said he’s received a “couple hundred” emails on the topic, and he said 99% were supportive.
“I’ve taken my whacks, and I’m happy to do it,” he said, adding that he wasn’t sure why selectmen felt the need to bring the topic up again Wednesday.
Minnich said he wouldn’t have begrudged selectmen for sharing their opinions to a certain extent. However, he said he would take issue if board members crossed the line into calling for discipline or questioning his integrity, noting a resolution had already been reached.
Crowley said he placed the item on the agenda because of the correspondence the town received on the topic.
He said he wanted it on record that the town had come to a resolution in the matter, and added that if he felt what happened required discipline, he would have called for an executive session for such a discussion.
“At this point, I don’t think that is necessary,” he said. “Dennis has been the chief of police for many years – it was a one-off thing.”
The state has put together guidelines for how towns are supposed to enforce the governor’s business restrictions.
According to the guidelines, police participation in the process is expected to be limited to situations where a compliance issue “presents an immediate threat to health and safety or the risk of a violent confrontation.”
Lucier said in her statement Wednesday that the chief “intends to support the board of health should they have a need for assistance with any safety concerns.”
