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Friday, May 24, 2013

By Janet Hefler
Published: May 21, 2009

Tisbury police Chief John Cashin worked his last day Wednesday. Three months short of the end of the chief's three-year contract, selectmen and Mr. Cashin agreed to part.

Selectmen appointed Tisbury Officer Daniel Hanavan interim chief on Tuesday. He is a former candidate for the job Mr. Cashin got. Mr. Cashin and the three Tisbury selectmen met Friday in executive session. The selectmen announced their decision not to renew Chief Cashin's contract, which expires on September 5, in a press release faxed to The Martha's Vineyard Times Tuesday.

The release, written by town administrator John Bugbee, explained that the selectmen and Chief Cashin mutually agreed that May 20 would be his last day on the job.

"I speak for the entire board when I say that we have nothing but the utmost respect for Mr. Cashin and the improvements he's made within the Tisbury Police Department," selectman Tristan Israel said, according to the press release. "His refreshing approach to community policing and dedication to law enforcement has been greatly appreciated. We thank him for his hard work and wish him nothing but the best in all his future endeavors."

Speculation over what was seen as Mr. Cashin's imminent departure followed a published interview last Thursday in which he blistered members of his own department and criticized selectmen for their lack of support and management interference ("Tisbury chief assails officers and selectmen").

Following their regular meeting Tuesday, selectmen Tristan Israel, Jeff Kristal, and Geoghan Coogan met in executive session with Officer Hanavan and appointed the veteran officer to the interim post. The appointment began at 5 pm Wednesday and is to last until October 12.

"Officer Hanavan came extremely close to becoming police chief in 2006 and is the logical choice to fill this position during this transitional period," chairman Israel said in the press release issued Wednesday morning. "As a member of the Tisbury Police Department, he has been the recipient of numerous commendations, and I know the board holds him in very high regard. I am confident in Mr. Hanavan's ability to serve as interim police chief."

Mr. Israel telephoned each member of the Tisbury Police Department Tuesday evening to tell them of Officer Hanavan's appointment before selectmen issued their press release. The selectmen also scheduled a meeting with the police department at 4 pm today to discuss the appointment.

In regard to the financial implications of ending Chief Cashin's contract before it expired, Mr. Bugbee said yesterday, "We're still negotiating the terms of the settlement."

As for compensating Officer Hanavan for his increased responsibilities, Mr. Bugbee added, "We're working through that as well, and I would guess it will be a similar agreement in nature to what was agreed upon between the town and Sgt. [Timothy] Stobie when he served in the same capacity."

Officer Hanavan, originally from Buffalo, N.Y., joined the Tisbury Police Department in 1989. A graduate of Syracuse University, he received a Master of Science degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University in Boston in 1987. Three years ago, Officer Hanavan competed with Mr. Cashin as a finalist for the police chief's position.

"I work with all of the people that are here and have a good working relationship with them, and I think it will be a good transition," Mr. Hanavan said in a phone call yesterday. Asked what direction he would take as a first step, he said, "I guess I'm just going to listen to the patrolmen's concerns and go from there."

"The union and officers of Tisbury are going to support Dan one hundred percent as acting chief, and we welcome his appointment," said Officer Michael Gately, who heads the Tisbury Police Union that represents sergeants and patrol officers.

On a bright, sunny Tuesday morning, just hours after Tisbury selectmen announced that Wednesday would be his last day on the job, Chief Cashin stood on the sidewalk on Main Street, chatting with shopkeepers and waving to passersby.

In a brief conversation with The Martha's Vineyard Times, Mr. Cashin spoke without a trace of the bitterness or anger that permeated his comments delivered in a series of interviews published last week in area newspapers.

He said his conversation with selectmen was cordial and professional, and he would have no other comment. Regarding future plans, Mr. Cashin said he would enjoy the summer on Martha's Vineyard.

Mr. Hanavan is not the first regular patrolman to fill the job of interim chief. In June 2006, former police chief Theodore "Ted" Saulnier resigned following several months of unsuccessful contract negotiations. Selectmen appointed Officer Stobie, who has since been promoted to sergeant, as the acting chief of police.

In conducting a search for a new chief in 2006, the selectmen asked for advice from Robert Wasserman, a West Tisbury resident and international security consultant. Mr. Wasserman is the chairman of the Strategic Policy Partnership, a group that assists police and government agencies with performance improvement and policy development.

The selectmen turned to Mr. Wasserman because of his familiarity with the department after completing a 25-page assessment of it, released in February 2001.

"We had a questionnaire, a telephone interview, an in-person interview, and as part of the process, had a site visit performed by myself and Tim Stobie to get an unbiased opinion of what people in his employer's town thought of Mr. Cashin," Mr. Bigbee said. "That was the process laid out to us by our consultant, Bob Wasserman."

With an interim police chief in place, Mr. Bugbee said, "We'll weigh all our options, and the board will look at what's best for addressing the needs of the town and the department, and we'll decide what will give us the best chief for Tisbury."