Without taking a formal vote, the board expressed a consensus around a plan to bring in a long-term interim chief to help the department move forward while the town completes an evaluation of how it wants policing to look in the future. That evaluation is being led by a social work researcher who the town is hiring to study the issue and engage the community about its public safety needs. A local social worker who helped the town hire that researcher told the board that the study will take time. What s being referred to as community conversations is a full-scale research project, Kerri Nicoll said after hearing the board discuss the question for several minutes. It will be conducted by a professional in this field. It s not simply social-workers going out to chit chat with people.
Search Is On For Permanent Williamstown Police Chief
The Select Board is moving forward to find a permanent police chief.
The Berkshire Eagle reports that, based on one of two options offered by member Andy Hogeland, Town Manager Jason Hoch will move forward to identify an interim chief in an abbreviated search.
It looks like community input will deduce what the department will look like and also what the community wants to see in a permanent police chief.
Once these steps are completed, a professional search firm would be engaged for the four or five-month process of finding a permanent chief.
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The town government in Williamstown, Massachusetts has reiterated its support for an independent investigation of its police department following allegations of racism, sexual assault and the resignation of the police chief.
The Northern Berkshire community of around 7,500 was rocked by an August 2020 lawsuit from Sergeant Scott McGowan alleging that Chief Kyle Johnson had allowed for gratuitous racism and sexism in the department, even accusing Johnson of committing sexual assault himself. While Johnson resigned in December and McGowan has since dropped his suit, community members have continued calls for an investigation into the department. At its Monday night meeting, select board chair Jane Patton underscored the town’s commitment to such an investigation, especially after the chaotic events of January 6th in Washington that saw both on and off duty law enforcement officers participate in the violent attack on the Capitol by right-wing extremists.