A doctor is demanding the firing of West Boylston (MA) Police Chief Dennis Minnich, after the chief sent an email claiming Governor. Charlie Baker’s “shut down” was “unconstitutional.”
According to the Telegram & Gazette, Dr. John Sullivan, who specializes in allergy and immunology at UMass Memorial and also serves on West Boylston’s Board of Health took offense to an e-mail that Minnich sent to Karyn Clark, the director of the Department of Public Health in Worcester.
“Karyn, I hope that all is well with you. I am alerting all of our businesses today that this ‘shut down’ is unconstitutional and illegal and that the PD will not enforce any actions by the B of H and furthermore that they should advise the ‘agents’ of the B of H to leave the premises immediately…..These so called ‘Orders’ by the Governor are not valid nor (constitutional) and will not be enforced. Respectfully, Dennis Minnich, Chief.”
“I am absolutely incensed by this email and believe that Mr. Minnich should be dismissed from the West Boylston police Department,” Sullivan wrote in an email to Town Administrator Nancy Lucier on Monday, the report said.
Minnich told MassLive he regretted the wording of the email and that what he intended to make clear was that he did not feel the enforcement of the governor’s orders on businesses were police responsibilities, but that of the Board of Health.
The chief said he and his officers would be available to keep the peace if any altercations arose but “the way the law is written, the Board of Health is the enforcement authority.”
Minnich says he does view the governor’s orders as unconstitutional, but that it doesn’t matter what his personal opinion is.
Town Administrator Nancy Lucier has said that the matter has been resolved.