Hancock Chief of Police Terry Choate presented his resignation to the Hancock Select Board at the Select Board meeting on Monday, April 20.
Town administrator Jonathan Coyne confirmed that the Select Board accepted Choate’s resignation effective immediately.
Coyne said the department is staffed by part-time officers, and that the Select Board is in the process of hiring new officers. According to the minutes of the Hancock Select Board, the board met with Choate to discuss staffing on April 6.
Choate, who is a resident of Hancock, was named interim chief of Hancock Police in November 2025. He had been formerly working as a part-time officer in Hancock.
Previously, Choate served as a Lieutenant in the Jaffrey Police Department. He resigned from his full-time position in March 2017 and transitioned to working as a part-time officer.
In February 2026, at a meeting with the Dublin Select Board, Dublin Police Chief Tim Suokko told the board he did not feel comfortable with continuing to provide mutual aid to the Hancock Police Department without a fully certified officer in the department.
Suokko stated that as of Feb. 2, 2026, Choate had not completed the police recertification required for his position as Chief of Police in Hancock, and remained uncertified.
Choate said in February that he was scheduled to start recertification classes in May 2026, and that the lack of current certification “has had zero impact on the Hancock Police Department’s operations.” Choate also noted that he had a two-year window in which to complete the recertification process.
Members of the Hancock Select Board could not be reached for comment.
