Atkinson chief: Selectmen threatening his job

From the Eagle Tribune;

July 22, 2011
Atkinson chief: Selectmen threatening his job
By Cara Hogan
chogan@eagletribune.com

ATKINSON — Police Chief Philip Consentino said selectmen are threatening to fire him for doing his job.

Consentino had heart surgery on June 14 and had been doing some work, mostly paperwork, from home while he recovers. But in a letter Consentino said he received on July 12, selectmen asked him to stop doing any police work.

"While you are out recuperating from your surgery, you are instructed that you are not authorized to perform any of your duties as a police chief or elderly affairs director of the town of Atkinson," the letter read. "Performing any of your duties ... you will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination."

The letter was a shock, Consentino said, and he doesn't understand why selectmen would threaten his job.

"I have to get a letter like this to throw all this added stress on my recovery," he said yesterday. "The feeling I got in my gut after receiving a letter like that, it just turned my stomach."

But Selectmen's Chairman William Bennett said the town is not trying to keep Consentino from his job.

"Some people think we're trying to push the chief out and that's in no way, shape or form what we're doing," he said. "The standard phrase in administrative letters is 'disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.' It doesn't mean we're trying to fire him. It just means he has to listen to what the Board of Selectmen tell him to do."

In fact, Bennett said, he wants to get Consentino back to work, but it's a liability issue.

"We want him back in the saddle as fast as possible, we just don't want him to push himself and come back too soon," he said. "I know Consentino, he thinks he's invincible. I don't want him to die on the job and his wife sues us for letting him come back to work."

But Consentino said he has a note from his doctor, saying he is recovering well and ready to work.

"My surgeon stated I could go back to work doing light duty at the Police Department behind the desk," he said. "The selectmen rejected that and said I will have to come back in full capacity, and have my doctor sign off on the physical demands for the Atkinson Police Chief."

The selectmen's letter said Consentino would have to be able to lift 25 pounds, carry more than 50 pounds, and be able to twist, bend, crawl and kneel before he can return to work.

"I'm hoping my surgeon will give me the OK to go back to work by Sept. 1, with no restrictions whatsoever," he said. "But why don't they just let me go back to desk duty? They're just restricting the police department's ability to function."

Town Manager Phil Smith would not confirm whether Consentino had presented his doctor's note and been rejected.

"The chief himself would have to release to you his medical documents from his doctor," he said.

Bennett said the letter to Consentino was a slight mistake. The chief does not need to be able to perform those specific physical activities before coming back to work, he said.

"We need to know if he is pain-free enough to make good decisions," Bennett said. "If he comes in and does desk duty, we don't want him jumping into the fray when he's not ready. It's a stressful job."

Three days after his surgery, while still in the intensive care unit, Consentino said, his wife brought him police paperwork and he would sort it out.

"When I finally got home from rehab, I was paying the bills here and sending them to Town Hall," he said. "Now, I get this letter saying I can't do anything. I have totally divorced myself now from the police department. The department is going to suffer dramatically because Detective (Philip) Farrar is not in a position to make decisions that a chief would make."

Selectmen did not appoint an acting chief while Consentino is out. Farrar was named officer in charge when Consentino left for his surgery.

Consentino said he feels persecuted and singled out by the board.

"(Fire Chief) Mike Murphy was out for surgery two months ago," Consentino said. "I called and asked if he was required to send in a note. He said he was surprised because just three days ago, the town had called and asked for a note from his doctor, which was about two months after the fact."

For now, Consentino is focusing on his health and not working for the town.