Lumberland constable chief resigns

By DAVID HULSE

GLEN SPEY — On the same night his brother was not re-appointed to the seven-man force, the Town Board announced the resignation of Lumberland’s chief constable Kirk Meehan.

There was no connection made between the two actions at the public session, but officials appeared to be bracing for controversy throughout.

Officially, Supervisor John LiGreci said the decision not to reappoint David Meehan came after an executive session regarding a disciplinary action, the content of which was not open to public scrutiny. The board approved a letter to Meehan during the session, but curiously waited until just before it recessed to unanimously approve a resolution not to make the re-appointment.

LiGreci began the January 10 session with a statement thanking Kirk Meehan for his 18 years of service to the town.

Kirk Meehan’s resignation, officially, was the result of personality conflicts with members of the town board, about which Meehan would not comment further. Meehan said he had enjoyed his time with the town, and would not rule out returning to public service under a different administration.

David Meehan, a former councilman, said for the record that he was unaware of the reasons for the board’s failure to re-appoint him. “They just approved the letter. I haven’t seen it yet,” he said.

Unofficially, those close to the decision had a different story. David Meehan was said to have come up for disciplinary action because he was in violation of the constables’ practices and procedures. He became a constable without possessing a permit to carry a handgun, and served three years without acquiring one.

On the other side of the argument, those close to the question said the town board had in the past year undertaken a witch hunt against the constables that had finally found a victim.

In general, LiGreci said the lack of a pistol permit by a candidate was a direct “violation of town law.”

The practices and procedures were approved by resolution of the town board in 1996, based on the premise that state and federal records checks done on pistol permit applications simplified the town’s hiring procedure.

Kirk Meehan said New York law allows a peace officer to purchase a handgun “on his badge.” Beyond that, Meehan said that the practices and procedures were not and did not carry the weight of town law.

Kirk Meehan said, in general, that few of those who have served as constables have in the past had pistol permits at the time of their appointments.

Polling of two other current and former constables seemed to confirm that. Steve Crum, who was appointed chief constable following Kirk Meehan’s January 9 resignation, said he obtained his permit after getting his appointment, as did newly seated Councilman Faber Wilson.

LiGreci maintained that this only illustrated the administrative problem, and reiterated that all appointments made to those who failed to have permits prior to their appointments were in violation of the procedures.