Former Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson has agreed to drop his unlawful demotion lawsuit against the village and top officials if two of them resign their municipal posts.
The proposed settlement was made after a state judge ruled that a preliminary injunction would remain in place blocking Woodstock from naming a permanent replacement for Swanson as police chief, his lawyer Linda Fraas said.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, Fraas said the village had not responded to the week-old offer to terminate the lawsuit and save Woodstock taxpayers the continued ongoing legal expenses. The deadline for the village to respond was by the close of business Wednesday after the Standard went to press, she said.
Under the proposed settlement, municipal manager Eric Duffy and village trustee chair Seton McIlroy would need to resign and Swanson would be returned to his former job as police chief of Woodstock.
Swanson has two legal proceedings in Vermont Superior Court against the village. One is the appeal of his demotion and the other is a $5 million unlawful discharge civil lawsuit mostly against Duffy, the five village trustees — McIlroy as chair, Jeffrey Kahn as vice chair, and Brenda Blakeman, Frank Horneck and Lisa Lawlor, and both the Village and Town of Woodstock.
Duffy ordered the demotion of Swanson earlier this year and the village trustees conducted a 14½ hour marathon hearing March 19. A month later, the trustees announced they were upholding the demotion 5-0.
For more on this, please see our August 21 edition of the Vermont Standard.
