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Montague, Mass., Police Chief Resigns, Following Internal Investigation

The police chief of Montague, Massachusetts, Chip Dodge, has resigned, several months after he'd been put on paid administrative leave.

The Montague Select Board announced March 5 that Dodge and the town mutually agreed he'll leave the job.

The Select Board chair Richard Kuklewicz said Dodge will remain on administrative leave until next February, with no professional duties, and receive his salary of approximately $105,000.

Dodge became police chief in 2012 after two decades on the force. He was praised for a compassionate policy towards drug users and named citizen of the year in 2014 by the Montague Elks Club.

Last year, Dodge told The Greenfield Recorder that he himself was in recovery for an addiction to painkillers. The newspaper had reported he was under investigation by the state attorney general for mishandling the contents of a prescription drug drop-box at the police station.

Dodge has not been charged with any crime.

One policy that Dodge instituted at the Montague police station -- that any addicts seeking help from police would be referred to treatment and not arrested -- was based on another program that started in Gloucester, Mass. The police chief who started that program has also left his post, following an unrelated scandal.

Christopher Bonnett remains acting police chief in Montague.

Correction: An earlier version of this report said the Montague Select Board announced February 5 that Dodge and the town mutually agreed he'd leave the job. The correct date was March 5.

 

Karen Brown is a radio and print journalist who focuses on health care, mental health, children’s issues, and other topics about the human condition. She has been a full-time radio reporter for NEPM since 1998.
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