WEST NEWBURY — Failure of duty complaints lodged against police Chief Lisa Holmes and her department by Cailin Kreuser are without merit, according to a review by selectmen made public yesterday.
The nine-page report, created by Town Counsel Michael McCarron, describes 10 accusations made in written complaints by Kreuser last November and December, along with a detailed explanation of the board's findings for each charge.
The board found "allegations of police misconduct or inappropriate actions are unsubstantiated" and that the police department "acted appropriately in very trying circumstances."
McCarron sat in on executive sessions to review the complaints with selectmen, Holmes and her lawyer on Dec. 14 and again on Wednesday.
Kreuser declined to attend the closed-door meetings, but in an email statement issued yesterday, she called the document "deliberately misleading, inaccurate and dishonest."
Many of the accusations, dating to 2010, involve Kreuser's concerns over how she was treated by police during ongoing domestic and child custody issues with her estranged husband, Adam. A partial summary follows:
Allegation: Sept. 20, 2010. Kreuser spots a man in the Page School parking lot "with his pants down, car facing out toward the children and a high lens camera next to him." She claims Holmes failed to take appropriate action when made aware of it.
Finding: The man was working with the custodian on the school boiler. He denied the allegations, saying he had "loosened his belt to tuck in his shirt." He had brought his camera to document the type of boiler he was working on to aid in obtaining any materials he might need to repair it. Holmes and Principal Jack O'Mara both "came to the conclusion that his statements were truthful." Holmes conducted background checks on the man in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. O'Mara said he was "very impressed" with Holmes' "poise and professionalism" as she interrogated the individual, calling her behavior that day "above reproach."
Allegation: Dec. 5, 2010. Kreuser obtains a restraining order against Christopher Danforth, who she claims was stalking her, and says police refuse to take action when he repeatedly violates it.
Finding: Police encouraged Kreuser to obtain the restraining order and accompanied her to meet with district court officials. Records indicate various officers responded to her concerns on multiple occasions. However, once, police couldn't act because Danforth's contact was with a friend of Kreuser's and only Kreuser and her children were named in the restraining order. Police obtained a warrant for Danforth's arrest on Dec. 16, 2010, and he is currently incarcerated in the Middleton House of Correction. A neighbor of Kreuser, who was also contacted by Danforth, said, "Police acted with courtesy and professionalism throughout the incident."
Allegation: Jan. 20, 2011. Kreuser says police took no action regarding an alleged assault by her estranged husband.
Finding: After multiple visits to the home and interviews with the husband, wife and children, police determined there was not sufficient evidence to charge Adam Kreuser but informed Cailin Kreuser of her right to file a charge in district court.
Allegation: Jan. 21, 2011. The chief and other officers attempted to intimidate Cailin Kreuser when she went to the station to complain about their decision not to arrest her husband the previous day.
Finding: When Kreuser arrived at the station, a dispatcher noticed that she appeared impaired and called officers for assistance. Observing that her eyes were "glassy with pinpoint pupils and that her speech was slow and garbled," the officers learned from her that she had taken "muscle relaxers, Zymbalta and other over-the-counter medications." Deeming her unfit to drive, they offered to bring her home; when she refused, they assisted her in obtaining a taxi.
Allegation: February 2011. Kreuser claims police took no action on multiple restraining order violations by Adam Kreuser.
Finding: In one event, Adam Kreuser called police to assist because his estranged wife was not sending their children outside to meet him and he was prohibited by the restraining order from leaving his car. The officer observed the husband drive off without ever leaving his car. Police also found no evidence of a violation when Adam Kreuser contacted his wife to give her a child support check. The one time he was cited was when he sent her a text warning about tornadoes that were approaching the area. The contact didn't directly involve their children — the only exempted contact in the restraining order. The charge was later dismissed in court.
Allegation: Nov. 30, 2011. In retaliation for her complaint, Cailin Kreuser contends that Holmes attempted to intimidate her by following her home in an off-white SUV after a selectmen's meeting.
Finding: After a contract negotiation session, Holmes left the selectmen's office at 7 p.m. in her unmarked police car. Around 9 p.m., Holmes said she observed a car excessively speeding toward the center of town and radioed for backup "because she was in civilian clothes and without her badge or gun." The officer arrived on scene near Pipestave Hill and issued a citation. The events are verified in police reports and radio calls into the dispatch center. Selectmen concluded it was "improbable to believe" the chief had the opportunity to stalk Kreuser in a white SUV around the same time she was involved in a traffic stop in her police car — "a dark-colored Ford sedan."
Selectmen also heard from Assistant District Attorney Maura Bailey and a local restaurant owner who both refuted comments by Cailin Kreuser that they spoke disparagingly to her about Holmes and the department.
Regarding Kreuser's most recent complaint, that police were harassing her by keeping a record without her knowledge of child custody exchanges she and her estranged husband held at the police station, selectmen praised the policy and said it didn't "in any manner constitute harassment against any particular individual."
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