By Mike Donoghue, Senior Correspondent
Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson is asking the Village Trustees for a public hearing after the Municipal Manager said this week that he wants to demote the veteran lawman.
Manager Eric Duffy, in a letter to Swanson, said termination was considered, but in the end a demotion appeared to be more appropriate for the case.
Duffy gave no indication what new rank he wants to give Swanson or if his rate of pay will change.
Swanson was a sergeant when Duffy promoted him to be the village police chief in July 2023 following a nationwide search. The sergeant’s post in the department is now held by Chris O’Keeffe, the acting chief.
Duffy declined comment about his letter when reached by the Vermont Standard this week.
Duffy has been pretty much closed mouth since he placed Swanson on paid leave on Oct. 15, 2024. The move came two days after a traffic incident involving a confrontation by two drivers, including Swanson’s husband, local lawyer Nicholas “Nico” Seldon, officials said.
An independent investigation by the Vermont State Police eventually determined by Nov. 5 that no charges could be filed against either driver or were warranted for the High Street incident. Swanson was a passenger in Seldon’s car and reportedly helped separate the two men.
Swanson expected to return to work immediately after being cleared, but Duffy continued to hold him out without any public explanation.
The Vermont Standard subsequently determined Duffy had hired a private detective on Oct. 25 to investigate complaints made by unidentified members of the two unions representing the village police officers and the town emergency dispatchers.
Manchester, N.H. lawyer Linda Fraas, who is representing Swanson, has always maintained the police chief wanted immediate reinstatement. She had said Swanson would ask for a public hearing to allow the community to hear what she characterized as false charges against him if any discipline was attempted.
Fraas made good on that promise on Tuesday when she filed a request for the public hearing.
She said it will be up to Duffy at the public hearing to try to prove that Swanson needs to be demoted.
The standard for proving the case is “preponderance of the evidence” and not “beyond a reasonable doubt,” Fraas told the Standard this week.
Fraas said there is no basis for a reduction in rank. She said she expects to cross examine Duffy and various members of both the police union and dispatchers union that provided statements.
She said she was told Duffy had promised the public safety employees that gave statements against the police chief that he would hide their identity. Fraas said that won’t be possible at the hearing because Swanson has a constitutional right to face his accusers.
No date has been set for the hearing. Fraas has asked for it to be held after March 13 due to scheduling concerns.
She said it could take a couple of days unless the board wants to have one day-long marathon session.
Fraas said she is unsure how soon the hearing could be held because of some unresolved preliminary matters, including getting evidence in the case. In his letter to Swanson, Duffy has said it is “voluminous.”
Duffy will need to turn over the statements, recordings and any other evidence collected by the private detective, William Burgess of Lebanon, N.H. Burgess has provided a 17-page report summarizing his investigation, but none of his work product.
Burgess is unlikely to testify because he has no direct evidence — only hearsay testimony of things told to him by employees, Fraas said.
Swanson’s lawyer also has asked that two Village Trustees, Chair Seton McIlroy and Vice Chair Jeffrey Kahn, recuse themselves because of apparent conflicts of interest in deciding the case.
That could leave Trustees Brenda Blakeman, Frank Horneck and Lisa Lawlor to decide the case.
It is unclear if McIlroy plans to step aside.
During a special meeting Tuesday night, McIlroy made a motion for the village to hire Burlington attorney Brian Monaghan, a co-founder of Monaghan Safar law firm to advise the trustees during an upcoming employment hearing.
Swanson was never mentioned during the meeting, including when the motion was made to hire Monaghan. The motion also never mentioned the rate of pay the village will give Monaghan. McIlroy said she had scouted out a few lawyers before picking Monaghan.
McIlroy’s motion, which was approved 5-0, also calls for her to serve as the liaison between the trustees and Monaghan leading up to the hearing. He will help make some pre-hearing rulings, but the trustees will still serve as the jury and can make some determinations at the hearing.
Earlier, Village Attorney Matt Bloomer, who has been advising Duffy over the past 20 weeks on the Swanson case, is being replaced by attorney John Klesch, another member of Stitzel, Page and Fletcher in Burlington.
Duffy was dealt a setback when it was disclosed this week that the Vermont Criminal Justice Council ruled that nothing in the investigation rose to the level of unprofessional conduct under state regulations.
The manager had secretly sent the Burgess report to the police academy to see if it would find any misconduct to help support taking action. Fraas said Swanson had asked multiple times to have the police academy investigate the claims, but only learned it got involved when he got a letter clearing his name.
In a one-page letter, Chris Brickell, the council’s executive directive, said a review of Swanson’s conduct as outlined in the Burgess report did not warrant any action.
The Swanson review was done by the VCJC’s Professional Regulation Subcommittee, which includes a current and a former police chief and three private citizens.
The complaint has been closed out with a ruling of “no finding,” Brickell wrote.
Duffy, in his letter to Swanson dated Feb. 23, said his demotion had nothing to do with the Oct. 13 traffic incident on High Street and was focused solely on the findings in the Burgess report.
Duffy added that since a closed-door session, known as a Loudermill hearing, on the Burgess report on Jan. 22 “additional concerning conduct has come to light.”
The manager invited Swanson and his lawyer for a second Loudermill hearing on Feb. 20.
Fraas decided not to attend the second hearing, but sent a written response that noted there was really no new information, except Duffy had added a few more claims, including Swanson reportedly failing to keep his desk clean and to keep his police cruiser clean, records show.
Duffy said demotion — not termination — was the appropriate action.
“It is clear based on reliable evidence that your performance and conduct have been poor. Due to the nature, seriousness, and breadth of the issues, I have no confidence in your ability to lead a prominent Village department, and I have determined that some lesser discipline would not lead to the improvement of your performance and conduct to a satisfactory level for the rank of police chief,” Duffy wrote in his 1 ½ page letter.
Duffy said Swanson will continue to draw his salary — about $2,030 a week — as police chief until the case is decided.
Swanson’s name has disappeared off the town website as police chief. The names of the fire chief, assistant fire chief and the ambulance service head are still posted.
Swanson is still listed as chief on the police department’s own website.
McIlroy is being asked to step aside because she had “participated in the pre-termination investigation and decision-making process to an extent that creates bias and/or the appearance of impropriety in the quasi-judicial hearing to determine the outcome of this matter.”
Fraas attached several emails that support her claim of ongoing involvement and assistance given to Duffy. They include “preparing documents, providing statements, joint meetings with Mr. Duffy’s attorney, and developing the claims against Chief Swanson,” Fraas said in her letter.
Fraas cited an email from McIlroy on Dec. 3 that “the Village Trustees have been involved in the discussion and decision making related to his (Chief Swanson’s) status.”
Fras also cited a Jan. 13 document prepared for the press by McIlroy that said some allegations were “falsehoods.”
The Vermont Standard had questioned early on in the case the involvement of the village trustees when the board might become the arbitrator for any appeal by Swanson.
Kahn is being asked to step aside because one of the allegations about Swanson involves Kahn in a road rage incident, Fraas said.
“Chief Swanson will testify under oath that Mr. Kahn pressured him to dismiss tickets he received as a result of that incident,” Fraas wrote in her appeal to McIlroy.
“According to a list of ‘falsehoods’ you prepared for the media, Mr. Kahn denies this and claims that he merely discussed with Chief Swanson how to handle the situation when he went to court. (You concluded that Mr. Kahn’s account is correct without hearing the conflicting evidence which provides additional basis for your recusal),” Fraas wrote to McIlroy.
“This incident led Chief Swanson to obtain legal consultation from his spouse regarding the accident investigation and the tickets issued. This consultation subsequently became the subject of Mr. Duffy’s allegation of misconduct against Chief Swanson. This history makes it clear that Mr. Kahn could not reasonably be considered a fair and impartial decision maker,” Fraas wrote.
Swanson’s paid leave, which went into week 20 as of Tuesday, appears to be unprecedented for a police chief or administrator in Vermont. A check with some public officials, including chiefs and managers, was unable to find such a long benching.
Duffy has filed 14 administrative counts against Swanson, including nine charges of specific unsatisfactory job performances since he became chief in July 2023.
Two counts center on public statements and expectations of privacy, Duffy said. There is one count for conduct unbecoming an officer, one count for an off-duty police claim and one count dealing with accountability.
Fraas and Swanson have taken strong exception to each charge.
Duffy maintained that members of the Village Police Department and the town Emergency Dispatch Center had filed complaints about Swanson’s management while the chief was initially on paid leave.
The demotion letter sent to Swanson notes for the first time in public that the employee complaints against the chief started coming in the same week Duffy had placed Swanson on paid leave.
“I was approached by several employees regarding concerns about your performance and conduct as police chief,” Duffy wrote.
Burgess, who was paid $7,000 for his report, was asked to inquire about complaints “regarding the activities, behavior and administrative practices of Police Chief Joe Swanson.”
Burgess also was asked to review other complaints that might surface from his initial inquiry.
After leveling administrative charges, Duffy was unable to come to a decision when presiding over the first Loudermill hearing behind closed doors on Jan. 22.
Three weeks later he asked for mediation, which also proved unsuccessful. Fraas said the only acceptable outcome would be reinstatement, but Duffy still did not make an immediate decision.
The village paid an estimated $2,000 for veteran mediator Gregory Clayton of Maine.
Until now, it was unclear if and when the village trustees, who are Duffy’s boss, were going to become involved in trying to help clear the costly logjam.