SALISBURY — Mark Thomas, a 24-year veteran of the Salisbury Police Department, has been fired, culminating a lengthy investigation into his behavior that began more than a year ago.
According to Town Manager Neil Harrington, Thomas was notified of his termination Wednesday, after his disciplinary hearing closed on Feb. 3 and Harrington made his decision. Thomas was fired for being found "culpable" of two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer: specifically, failure to devote full attention to duty by studying for the bar exam while on duty, and a lack of truthfulness, for falsifying his career record on his application for admittance to the FBI National Academy.
Two other charges brought against him, failing to report department misconduct and trying to exert undue influence over his fellow officers, were dismissed by Harrington.
But according to Thomas' attorney, Kenneth Anderson, the firing was predestined. He argued that Thomas never had a chance to save his job.
"When we went in, we knew this was a bag job from the start," Anderson said yesterday. "The town completely obstructed any attempt to make this a fair hearing. They essentially railroaded Mark Thomas. We intend to vigorously appeal this decision."
Prior to his termination, Thomas, 46, of Salisbury and Portsmouth, N.H., had been on paid administrative leave since May 23, 2011, after allegations of possible misconduct came to light in January 2011 during a probe of former police Chief David L'Esperance, who had been accused of engaging in criminal activities.
The St. Pierre report stated that L'Esperance gave Thomas preferential treatment by allowing him to study for the bar exam for hours in a private office, while being paid to work shifts. The report also stated that L'Esperance falsified Thomas' application to attend the FBI academy by stating he was "chief of detectives" and that he had leadership responsibilities, which he did not, to allow him to qualify for the academy.
St. Pierre wrote he believes Thomas was "complicit" in the writing of the documents that got him into the academy.
A second administrative investigation into Thomas' behavior followed. Conducted by former Salem police Chief Robert St. Pierre, who undertook the L'Esperance review, the result was a 115-page report released on Sept. 28. Although no criminal charges were lodged against Thomas as a result of the investigation, he faced four allegations that he had broken Salisbury Police Department rules and regulations. Due to the findings of the report, Thomas remained on paid leave as he faced disciplinary proceedings for the charges.
Thomas had been a permanent full-time police officer with the Salisbury department since November 1997. Prior to that, he served as a reserve officer beginning in 1987. Thomas also served an 18-month suspension during his time as a reserve.
Thomas' disciplinary hearing began on Dec. 15, when Daniel Kulack, special counsel to the town, presented the charges against Thomas, which, Harrington said, were basically those in St. Pierre's report.
Anderson said the hearing was continued because only one of the witnesses he subpoenaed in defense of Thomas showed up, and he needed more time to try to get others to testify. Anderson felt he had subpoena power for the procedure, but others refuted it, he said.
Anderson subpoenaed seven people: retired acting police Chief Kevin Sullivan, former Salisbury police officer Joe Anderson and five members of the Salisbury Police Department — interim police Chief Richard Merrill, dispatcher Christine Harrison, Sgt. Chuck Scione, acting Sgt. Daniel McNeil and Detective Steve Sforza. The testimony of these seven implicated Thomas of wrongdoing in both reports written by St. Pierre.
"For St. Pierre, officers were interviewed three or four times, but the town would not compel the five officers who are town employees to appear so I could question them for the hearing," Anderson said.
According to Harrington, the lawyer for the police union informed the subpoenaed officers that they did not have to appear, and the town did not force the issue.
"The burden was on Mr. Thomas' attorney to get the witnesses to attend," Harrington said. "And we told him that."
Defending Thomas, while not being able to interview the witnesses who provided testimony against him, was like "shadow-boxing blindfolded," Anderson said. He added that he found the St. Pierre's reports "filled with hypocrisy" and his experience in Salisbury "one of the weirdest" he'd ever encountered.
"When they started the L'Esperance investigation, it was clear that they were out to get Mark Thomas," Anderson said. "It was also clear that there was a lot of jealousy in that department. (With a law degree) Mark probably is the one with the best education there."
Anderson said the town never called Thomas as a witness during the hearing, and he persuaded his client it would not be in his best interest to testify in his own defense now, but rather to put his money and attention into the appeal.
But for Harrington, the situation boiled down to his lack of trust in Thomas' truthfulness. Above all, a police officer has to be truthful and never conduct himself in a way that gives anyone a reason to question his honesty or integrity, Harrington said. Given the information that surfaced in the St. Pierre investigations that challenged Thomas' veracity, and Thomas not refuting it, Harrington believes the firing is justified.
"A police officer has to testify in court," Harrington said. "Once he's lost his credibility, he can't effectively perform his duties as a police officer."
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