Tisbury police chief John Cashin blistered members of his own department and criticized selectmen for their lack of support and management interference. He made his sharply worded comments in a telephone interview yesterday with The Martha's Vineyard Times, in reaction to rumors that he had resigned.
Tension within Chief Cashin's department and between the selectmen and the chief follow news reports last week that the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination is investigating a complaint brought against the Tisbury Police Department and the selectmen's office by the only female officer on the force.
Tisbury police chief John Cashin. File Photo by Susan Safford
This week, the rumored departure of Chief Cashin circulated among Island police officers. Tisbury officials reached by The Martha's Vineyard Times declined to speak on the record, but one person familiar with the situation said the chief's status would be resolved soon.
Chief Cashin said his rumored resignation was a "flagrant, outright, outrageous lie, among others." He said he had not discussed his contract renewal or his departure with selectmen. "I would call it wishful thinking on the part of several of my officers," said Mr. Cashin, "and that will be addressed."
Chief Cashin was sworn in as Tisbury's chief of police on September 5, 2006. He had formerly served as the investigative services commander in the Norwalk (Conn.) Department of Police Services.
The chief's three-year contract with the town of Tisbury included a starting salary of $80,388 for the first year and subsequent step increases over the next two years. He was hired following a year-long process after the Tisbury selectmen voted not to renew former police Chief Ted Saulnier's contract in June 2005, due to a salary dispute.
Yesterday, Chief Cashin said he had heard about his rumored resignation. "I can tell you that I did not resign," he said. "I can tell you that there's something in the works that is something less than contract negotiations, and I think it has to do more with communication between myself and the selectmen, and I guess some of the things that go on on this Island and that are being promulgated by everyone."
Mr. Cashin said he had been subjected to a litany of rumors concerning his sexual preference, his sanity, substance abuse, and off-duty calls. He said the rumors were personally frustrating and, he believed, part of a campaign to undermine his authority and management by some members of his department.
"I had no idea, and perhaps that's a reflection of my own naiveté, that this place could be so brutally unfriendly, and that these individuals could be so hateful that they would put such pressure on me," Chief Cashin said. "And I'm not talking about job pressure. I had 140 people under me, and I never had to deal with half of the things that I've had to deal with here."
"My time here has been almost exclusively, certainly very intensively, spent on personnel, and it is ridiculous," the chief said.
Chief Cashin said he intends to continue managing the department to the best of his ability and would like to continue in his job. If that happens, he promised, there will be changes in the department.
The chief said he understood the insular nature of a small community and the likelihood there would be some resentment before he took the job. But, he said, he never expected the personal attacks.
Mr. Cashin said the public has treated him fairly. "I have had wonderful relationships with so many people in this community," he said. "The most pleasurable duty that I have, next to maybe the kids at the school crossing, is going up on Main Street, walking around, and talking to tourists, and talking to people in shops - wonderful."
Mr. Cashin said he expects to meet with selectmen in executive session on Friday. "I would be hoping to get some clarification on where I stand, in terms of the future," he said. "I will hopefully be able to explain to them my plan for the department and what I expect of my officers, what I will expect of myself, and what I will expect of them."
In the past, Tisbury police chiefs have accused the town selectmen of interference and intrusive management of police affairs. "I think micromanaging is too sophisticated a term," said Mr. Cashin. "It is sheer interference."
Mr. Cashin said selectmen have always been respectful of his opinions. But they do not hesitate to call him with their views on police matters.
Chief Cashin said if the department is to change and progress, the selectmen must unite in support of the police chief, whoever that might be, and follow a chain of organization and command. Otherwise, he said, Tisbury is "going to go on through chief, through chief, through chief."
"If I have to go, fine," Mr. Cashin added, "but if they know, if the individuals here that are stirring the pot know that they have the authority and the power to essentially evict a chief, then why would they let anybody stay? They will go through the next fellow or gal for three years or whatever - if it takes three years."
"There are people out there who would have just bagged it a long time ago, and said, listen, this is crazy," the chief added. "But that's where we stand now."
