The Hancock Select Board named Sgt. Thomas Horne as the new police chief in Hancock at their meeting Monday afternoon. Horne, who currently works for the police department in town, is set to be sworn in in January. The new chief will operate under a contract, Select Board Chair Laurie Bryan said, something that had not been a part of the town’s agreement with outgoing police chief Andrew Wood, with whom they signed a separation agreement in August and whose last day is Dec. 31.
The Board looked into restructuring the police department after Wood announced his resignation, Bryan said. They reconsidered how many officers and cruisers the town really needed, and discussed the possibility of forming a regional partnership with other towns, she said.
Although they didn’t form an official search committee for the new chief and most of the discussion about the new chief has been nonpublic as they hashed out contractual stipulations with legal counsel, residents spoke and wrote to Board members throughout the process, Bryan said.
Some residents asked whether it was feasible to receive coverage from the State Police, and although they will continue to cover Hancock during certain hours, the Board stopped short of considering exclusive State Police coverage since officers are already stretched thin and response time from Bedford is less than ideal, Bryan said.
Although Hancock and surrounding towns “aren’t quite ready” to seriously consider joining forces, the Board determined that continuing to rely on the strong mutual aid agreement between towns is the best way to provide coverage to Hancock right now. “We will go forward maintaining our own department with a chief,” Bryant said. “There may be other options for a sort of hybrid regional [option], but that will be really up to the new chief to work on,” she said.
The Select Board found cause for the town to terminate Wood for violating several town, state and Police Department standards, according to documents obtained by the Ledger-Transcript in November. Bryan said she couldn’t speak to the Board’s decision to draft a separation agreement rather than fire Wood outright. “We’re looking forward,” she said.