Damariscotta Police Chief Steve Drake is on indefinite paid administrative leave.
Damariscotta Town Manager Greg Zinser put Drake on leave late April 6.
Drake left a meeting of the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen earlier April 6 during an emotional exchange with town officials and citizens about the Damariscotta Police Dept. budget (see “24/7 coverage at issue in DPD debate” in this issue).
Zinser has declined comment about the reason(s) for his decision.
The selectmen have met in executive session twice, on April 8 and April 11. Zinser said they concur with his decision.
Drake has rejected the town’s offer of a severance package, he confirmed April 12. He said he thinks the town plans to keep him on paid administrative leave until his contract runs out June 30, at which time the town will not renew his contract.
Zinser declined comment on the issue of the severance package or Drake’s contract. The administrative leave is “not a disciplinary action,” he said April 13, but instead provides all parties an opportunity to “review the situation” and assess available options.
Dick McLean, the Chairman of the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen, said April 11 that the town has not asked Drake to resign.
Zinser would not comment on the matter.
Zinser has appointed Sgt. Chad Andrews to serve as Acting Police Chief in Drake’s absence.
Mary Trescot, a member of the Damariscotta Budget Committee and the executive director of Youth Promise, a Newcastle non-profit organization that works with juveniles in the criminal justice system, is collecting signatures for a petition to return Drake to duty and offer him a new, three-year contract.
Trescot expressed admiration for Drake’s performance since his arrival in Damariscotta. The Damariscotta Police Dept., as a result of Drake’s leadership, is the only department in the county with authorization from the District Attorney to investigate child abuse, she said.
“I’m concerned about the town” in Drake’s absence, Trescot said. As of April 13 at 11 a.m. (shortly after obtaining the necessary papers) she has collected two signatures.
For more information or to sign the petition, call Mary Trescot at the Youth Promise office (563-6123) or call or text her on her cell phone (380-6074).
The members of the Damariscotta Police Dept. sent a letter to the editor (see pg. 13, Letters to the Editor, “Damariscotta Police weigh in”) voicing solidarity with Drake.
“Chief Drake leads this department with integrity, pride, and professional demeanor,” the department wrote.
According to the letter, Drake’s “choice words with” Zinser led to the decision to place him on leave.
The department feels Drake’s “words and actions” at the April 6 meeting don’t “warrant a call for his resignation by [Zinser],” they wrote. “Every member of this department has a great deal of respect for Chief Drake… Our support for the Chief will not waiver and the public needs to know that we all stand behind him.”
Two towns over, Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde expressed support for Drake in an April 12 phone interview.
Labombarde said he was “totally shocked” to learn of the town’s action.
Drake, a former homicide detective with the Maine State Police, who, at one time, worked in the state agency’s Crime Lab, has assisted Labombarde in “several… complicated investigations,” including two child abuse cases.
“Do they realize the resource they have with Chief Drake?” Labombarde said.
Labombarde said the budget cycle in any town can be “quite stressful.”
“We’re all trying to do what’s best for our communities but also what’s best for our departments,” Labombarde said. Department heads must balance budget concerns with concerns about “cutting services” and about the careers and families of their officers.
A Facebook page, “Community in Support of Chief Drake” sprang up over the weekend and, as of April 13 at 6:30 a.m., has 252 members, many of whom have substituted their profile pictures with the Damariscotta Police Dept. insignia in a show of unity.
The page’s wall includes supportive comments from Damariscotta residents, former residents, members of the business and law enforcement communities and relatives of Drake and other Damariscotta officers.
The page, as is typical of Facebook, contains its share of inflammatory language and flagrant inaccuracies, but it also presents dozens of testimonies to Drake’s dedication and effectiveness.
Posts by the page administrator ask members to call, email or write town officials and The Lincoln County News to express support for Drake.
