A .40 caliber Glock pistol is missing from the Tisbury Police Department. The pistol, which is town property, was reported missing “on or about July 2017,” according to a memo obtained by The Times through a public record request.
The memo is from recently sidelined Tisbury Police Chief Mark Saloio. Chief Saloio recently announced his retirement from the Tisbury Police Department after a short tenure. He planned to stay at the helm until November, but the town’s select board installed Sgt. Christopher Habekost as acting chief on July 7, and placed Saloio on administrative leave in good standing.
Dated Oct. 19, 2019, Saloio’s memo was sent to Tisbury town administrator Jay Grande. Saloio informed Grande that he learned about the missing pistol through a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) inquiry that came via the Dukes County Sheriff’s Department.
“There is an unaccounted-for firearm, registered to the Tisbury Police Department, somewhere in the public domain,” Saloio wrote.
Saloio recommended hiring an “outside investigational firm” to look into the matter. It’s unclear if such an investigation ever took place.
When asked about the missing gun, Grande said, “I believe it was resolved in some manner to the satisfaction of the police chief or chiefs.” However, as Grande continued to talk, he admitted to being unsure about the matter.
When portions of Saloio’s memo were read back to him, Grande said, “Obviously I would rely on his recommendation.”
Grande was unable to say whether an external investigation was undertaken, and insisted it would have been up to Chief Saloio to move forward on such a thing. He said he would confer with Habekost on the matter.
Habekost couldn’t immediately be reached by phone for comment. Habekost also hasn’t responded to a number of general and specific email questions sent to him on July 5.
One of those questions was about the missing firearm.
Saloio told The Times on Monday that the town wasn’t interested in hiring an outside investigator, and to his knowledge, an outside investigation never took place.
Reports from a former Tisbury sergeant and a former Tisbury chief conflict on who last had possession of the pistol. The reports, also obtained through a public records request, show former Tisbury Police Chief Dan Hanavan denied he ever took possession of the pistol, while former Tisbury Police Sgt. Tim Stobie stated the weapon was brought to the chief in his office.
Reached Monday, Stobie, who retired from the department in 2017, told The Times he gave the pistol to Hanavan, and Hanavan “wore it for a few years.” Stobie, who had been the armorer for the department, said, “It wasn’t me.”
In police departments, armorers manage and maintain firearms and equipment.
Reached on Friday, Hanavan, who retired in 2018, initially had nothing to say. “I’m going to have to go with no comment on that,” he said.
Later, Hanavan called back to say he would comment on Monday, and did. “I decided not to use that gun because it was too small, and I put it back in the armory,” he said.
Hanavan said he never shot the pistol. “I never took the gun out of the station,” he said.
Stobie’s report, which is dated August 23, 2017, indicates the pistol was provided to Hanavan in 2015. The report was approved by Habekost, a sergeant at the time, who ultimately became the department’s armorer. Hanavan’s report, which is also dated August 23, 2017, indicates that in 2013 he and Stobie “discussed the possibility” of equipping Havavan with a smaller Glock pistol.
Hanavan’s report states Stobie told him, “I don’t know where the gun is” in June 2017. Both reports show a request was made by Hanavan to report the pistol lost or missing, and that the deed was accomplished. Stobie’s report indicates that he reported the Glock to NCIC, via the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services. Hanavan’s report was approved by former Tisbury Police Sgt. Kindia Roman. Roman has an active federal lawsuit against the department, Saloio, and Tisbury Police Sgt. Max Sherman. The suit alleges discrimination, among other things.
In his memo, Saloio informed Grande that the pistol was previously issued to former Tisbury Police Chief Ted Saulnier.
In a follow-up memo to Grande sent in November, 2019, Saloio wrote that he had instructed the department sergeants to look through “the entire interior of the [p]olice department in search of the missing firearm.”
Saloio told Grande the pistol was not located. He noted a similar search had been conducted in 2017.
What is going on, a missing pistol within a police department! in the army you would be thrown out of the Service and do time at Leavenworth. Sweet justice, vote for all new selectman each time we have an election, one term only until we can get a handle or rouge police department.
Mr. Degotta,
I am not sure which military branch you were in or if you were in at all, but the military that I was in a soldier would not be sent to Leavenworth for losing a firearm.
I have been online on a drop zone shoulder to shoulder with soldiers looking for a lost firearm. The soldier who lost a firearm was given you UCMJ punishment, restricted to base, loss of both pay and rank.
This is the second time I’ve responded.I would hope that the MC Times would not further edit/restrict Factual information being shared someone’s response
Your first comment on this did not follow our rules for using both first and last names. This one did.
The missing pistol will give Kozack ample ammunition for another attack on the Tisbury Police Department. Who cares about a missing pistol anyway?
It is my understanding missing pistols are often used in crimes.
Also I prefer my police departments to keep track of their weapons.
Your first thought is the well-deserved criticism of Tisbury’s dumpster-fire of a police department might elicit from a commenter in this forum?
I question your priorities.
from 2017?????? that is long gone…..
Andy– “Who cares about a missing pistol anyway?” you ask.
I find that rather strange from you..
Perhaps if a criminal broke into your home and shot you or your family members with that gun, you would care. I know you wouldn’t care if anyone else was shot by a criminal with that gun.
In case you don’t know it, people use these things to kill other people. You say you a “ninja for life”.. You know, if someone would steal that gun, they might not care if they shot a pregnant woman and a blob of cells growing in her womb were destroyed.
I guess that would get you screaming about guns being in the wrong hands.
You keep sinking to new lows—
Keller, I dont care about guns but that one is in the hands of a former policeman and it is 4 years ago. It is not out in the street with MV criminals as a hazard to anyone. Keep some perspective please. This is the MVTimes muckraking and piling on to an embattled Police Department and looking for any irregularity to embarass.
Andy– so you know where this gun is and who has it ?
Shouldn’t you be a responsible citizen and tell the authorities about this ?
Careful here Andy– the FBI might be knocking on your door soon, since you seem to have some information about this one.
If I was an ATF agent, I would be there in a heartbeat.
Don is on point! Andy, how do you know who has the gun?
The person it may be pointed at.
So many Ex-Cops are criminals, Derrick Chauvin comes to mind.
Oh no, The Halls of Justice have been soiled again!
Which superhero is it that has an alter ego of ‘stickeefingers’? Have they double checked Officer Day’s foot locker? The last we were reading he was making off with evidentiary firearms after brutalizing poultry and making false arrests, see article below:
https://www.mvtimes.com/2021/06/03/tisbury-cop-falsely-arrests-man/
It appears that the reign of stupidity not only continues, it has been written in to the future by being utilized as a past practice work habit!
Who will save the citizens of Tisbury, will it be Jeff Kristell, pointing his finger at everyone else, perhaps Larry Gomez… no he never knows anything or anyone! We will give Mr. Cortur a break as he is brand new! Maybe the Grande will step in, though he thought the issue resolved until faced with facts!
What scandal will erupt next to overshadow this episode of unacceptable non-sense being perpetuated on the tax payers at their own expense? Perhaps this firearm was loaned to the ‘fast and furious crew’ (no not the movie, the real life use of seized firearms sold to the cartels).
This is preposterous!!!!!!
Stay tuned for TOMORROW’s display of flagrant incompetence from the Tisbury Police!
Does anyone on the Tisbury Police have a history of secreting firearms out of police departments?
Looking forward to seeing Mass. State Police patrolling the streets of Tisbury any minute now, as anyone can see that receivership is imminent.
Calling State Rep tomorrow- The Tisbury Police Department must not be allowed to continue operating.
We must MAKE SURE that serving on the notorious Tisbury Police Department is a millstone around the neck of anyone seeking to continue a career in law-enforcement. I know there’s a small handful there that aren’t corrupt and incompetent, and they need to jump ship NOW.
The music’s almost over TPD.
Enjoy the silence.
Seems like someone, maybe an employee who sent to retirement earlier than they wanted to be, is airing all the dirty laundry of the town.
You get rid of bad smells by airing dirty laundry.
“Where’s the Glock?” truly revives the spirit of Clara Peller’s 1984 (no coincidence on that Orwellian year!) ascendency to the top of American advertising fame.
That scepticism of the diminutive contents within the competition’s hamburger leads us straight to 2021.
Where are the law abiding police on the Tisbury Police Dept?
How did this fall through the cracks since 2017? The Tisbury “powers that be” dont feel like a missing Glock is a public safety concern? Or do they know who has it and are covering up the facts? Whatever the case, this continued absurdity is an embarrassment for the whole island.
That Chilmark wild turkey was shot and killed by a glock-weilding police officer chasing it in what is now a famous story from the past. The one who shot the turkey perp is now arresting wrong people perps in VH. When searching for the missing gun, maybe check the Chilmark freezer in the police department and see if poor tom’s bullet riddled body is still there. Given the state of what people believe these days, it’s within the realm of possibilities for a turkey to rise from the dead and seek turkey justice for having been killed for doing nothing more than being a wild turkey.
Funny how this wasn’t mentioned in TPD’s auto-congratulatory “press release as news piece” celebrating their recent ‘accreditation’, and how ‘up to date, and secure’ their evidence locker is.
Puh-leeeez. Let’s look at that ‘accreditation’ criteria, once the Tisbury Police Department goes down (and they ARE going DOWWWWNNNN).
Do I detect a subtle hint of subtext in Saloio’s report? Is this about the incompetent, corrupt Good Ol’ Boys, who think our town is their fiefdom, cooking up a fix against a PREVIOUS TPD Chief they also wished run out of town?
Spidey-sense a-tingle.
If only whomever is holding on to this gun could be overheard suggesting Officer Scott Ogden is awfully well-paid and under-utilized as an unnecessary ‘school resource officer’, THEN the cops would go grab it without delay!
So sick of this circus. The good people of Tisbury do not deserve this. But everyone knows what happens to you if you question, criticize, or fail to adequately bow and scrape before the Tisbury Police Department.
TPD deserves what comes next, good and hard.
Sic Semper Tyrannis.
Any loss of a firearm, even for a large department, is a big concern. At the least it suggests incompetence and at worst it reflects corruption. However local the island feels, a problem like this has larger implications. To say it shouldn’t be investigated, or that it’s not a big deal, or to point to unrelated issues like gas prices or “border control” as an excuse to not pinpoint what actually happened is shortsighted and/or disingenuous.
Can someone explain the following paragraph? It’s unclear or contradictory. What does Stobie mean by “it wasn’t me”?
— Reached Monday, Stobie, who retired from the department in 2017, told The Times he gave the pistol to Hanavan and Hanavan “wore it for a few years.” Stobie, who had been the armorer for the department, said, “It wasn’t me.”–
This right here is why this country is in trouble. This person spouting nonsense about gas prices (which are NOT controlled by the government and rise every summer), the border (which is very much NOT open and which also sees increases in illegal crossings EVERY SUMMER under EVERY administration, including Herr Trump), crime in the streets (but god forbid we should impose stricter gun laws), the rise of the Taliban half a world away (when we’re seeing the rise of right-wing extremist violence right here in this country, but thats OK because its old white men who are “patriots” who believe in “freedom” and hate “the gays”), and scoffs at a deadly virus that has already killed 600,000 Americans. Ignorant, weak-minded, brainwashed lemmings who wont get vaccinated and cheer the fact that thousands more will die so they can “own the libs”. Well done Rupert Murdoch. Putin must pay you well.
Police departments on MV receive very good salaries and benefits. They call themselves “professionals “. Not keeping track of equipment, especially one that may cause harm to the general public, is not professional.
ALL Vineyard police departments should be taking a deep look at this and make sure they have all their ducks, Glocks, every piece of weaponry accounted for.
Andie– Highest gas prices ever were in July of 2018 ( $4.11 ) when a repub was president.. we have border control — violent crime is down over decades– Some of the world’s most religious people are following the word of god and taking back their country from christian infidels– Why do you have a problem with people who practice their religious beliefs .
I don’t lose sleep about people idling their cars–
I just want some common sense laws enforced.
I would bet that you sleep well, because you know that the abortion rate is declining.
Or maybe not—
How about staying on topic ?
Should be easy to find unless someone is hiding it.
It used to be, during a simpler time, that only Barney Fife, everyone’s favorite law enforcement officer, was not to be trusted with the issuance of a dept. handgun.
Now it appears the entire Tisbury Police Dept needs Sheriff Andy Taylor to confiscate some weapons, so the citizens can sleep at night.
This is a potential public safety disaster.
If some skel tossed a piece in the woods in a foot chase, they would put everybody on the search until it was found.
Let’s make finding this adrift weapon ‘Acting Chief’ Habekost’s top priority.
Produce it by end of business Friday, or a good excuse why you can’t.
Get busy, ‘Chief’.
Comments are closed.