TURNERS FALLS — The Attorney General’s Office has closed its investigation into the Montague Police Department and its handling of a prescription drug drop-off program, according to town officials. The AG has filed no charges related to the investigation.
Montague updated the public on the matter during Monday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting, and a statement released by the town said it received formal notice from the Attorney General’s Office April 14 that the investigation was closed, 11 months after it began in June 2016. On Tuesday, the AG’s office confirmed the investigation was closed in April.
The office was investigating the handling of prescription drugs deposited in a medicine drop box in the Montague police station. The drop box was operated by the Montague Police Department in conjunction with the Northwest District Attorney’s Office.
At the meeting, Selectmen’s Chairman Rich Kuklewicz said the next step for the town is to reach out to District Attorney David Sullivan to discuss the reinstatement of the programs that were suspended during the investigation.
The DA suspended Montague’s participation in the drop-off program and the regional drug task force, through which area police departments collaborate on major investigations.
“We have not reached out to the DA officially just yet, we plan to do that in the next week,” Kuklewicz said.
Kuklewicz said the town has been asking questions of the AG’s office throughout the process, and had started to push a little harder as the investigation approached a year.
In a statement on Monday, the District Attorney’s Office said it will have a dialogue with the town before a decision is made on the two programs.
Town officials elaborated on the situation during Monday night’s meeting.
“So as most people here know that there was an investigation through the Attorney General’s Office last year, which resulted in a short administrative leave for the chief of police,” Kuklewicz said. “We’ve since received information through the AG’s office that the investigation has been closed.”
Kuklewicz said the board had a copy of a letter from the AG to the attorney representing Chief of Police Charles “Chip” Dodge stating the matter has been closed. Dodge did not comment at the time of press.
“It reads, ‘As per our phone conversation, this letter confirms that the Office of the Attorney General’s investigation of this matter has closed,’ Which is about as definitive as I think you get with attorneys general,” Kuklewicz said.
Issues with the department and the drop box started in June of 2016.
Records obtained by The Recorder showed that the DA’s office had suspended the drop box and the town’s participation in a regional anti-crime task force pending an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office into the handling of the contents of the drop box.
The suspension of those programs followed a visit to the department from AG investigators, and shortly thereafter, Dodge was placed on administrative leave by the selectmen for five days in late June 2016.
Following an executive session with Dodge and the selectboard, Dodge was placed back on duty, with full-throated backing of selectmen, who said in a formal statement that it was “confident in his abilities.”
Kuklewicz said on Tuesday that the suspension was something the board did so it could assess the situation, and once selectmen met with Dodge, there wasn’t a reason to continue keeping him from his work.
“It was to allow us time to figure out what was going on,” he said.
On June 28 — the day after the chief’s paid leave was lifted — he wrote an email to the selectmen noting that the department had drafted a new policy, which was expected to take effect “very soon.”
The selectboard said on Monday that the MedBox policy went into effect in August 2016.
That protocol, according to a copy obtained through the state’s public records law, is designed to “ensure the integrity of the process” of collecting and disposing of unwanted drugs. Kuklewicz said he doesn’t believe there was any “real clear” protocol in place until the chief came up with one after June 27.
In July, Sullivan wrote Dodge to say he was suspending indefinitely Montague’s participation in the regional Medication Dropbox Program.
At Monday night’s meeting, the selectboard said the department rewrote the protocol, and it’s more strict than the DA’s.
“The problem is that the box gets overfilled, so we need to make sure we have a robust protocol for when it needs emptying,” Kuklewicz said.
He said it’s in the best interest of the town to have the med box, which helps keeps residents safe and keeps residents from flushing prescriptions, which can affect the water supply.
Town Administrator Steve Ellis said despite the challenges of the task force and the drop box, the town wants to have the conversation with the DA about reinstatement.
“These are useful and important resources that we’d like to re-establish for the community,” Ellis said.
Reach Miranda Davis at
413-772-0261, ext. 280
or mdavis@recorder.com.