By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Fired after he allegedly assaulted an officer in the Plaistow Police Station, former Police Chief Doug Mullin settled his lawsuit against the town for $187,500.
The settlement agreement between the town and the chief who was fired in 2021 was finalized in recent days. Select Board Chair Bill Coye confirmed the two sides had reached an agreement.
Mary Beth Purcell, an attorney with the town’s insurance company Primex, told InDepthNH.org the total payout to Mullin through his lawyer is $187,500.
Mullin sued the town in 2022, seeking a return to his position with back pay claiming the board improperly fired him.
Mullin claimed in his lawsuit he was fired for political reasons after he started investigating officers for alleged time theft, according to media reports.
Mullin claimed he found officers leaving shifts early without authorization in order to work paid detail shifts in other towns.
However, the termination letter signed by then Select Board Chair Darrell Britton, cited deficiencies in Mullin’s job performance.
Mullin allegedly assaulted an officer in early 2021 after he demanded to see that officer in his office. That incident was reported by Jeff Padellaro, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters 633 which represents the police officers’ union. The alleged assault was investigated by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit, which found insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges. The state investigators however noted that several of the police officers who gave statements about the alleged assault gave inconsistent statements. The state recommended the town conduct further investigation into the department.
The bad blood between the chief and his officers boiled over in the summer of 2021 with a meeting between the chief, the town and the officers. The town also hired Municipal Resources Inc. to review the department. That review found numerous problems, including a failure to cultivate a positive work environment.
The Select Board finally voted to terminate Mullin’s employment in October of 2021.
Mullin came to Plaistow after nearly 20 years of law enforcement mostly in neighboring Salem. In 2019, Mullin filed a lawsuit against the Salem department over an incident at his home in which he claimed to have been assaulted by three officers.
This May, the town hired John Santoro to lead the department. Santoro comes from Massachusetts where he worked in the Methuen Police Department as well as the chief of the Framingham State University police department.
