Dighton Board of Selectmen plans to make acting police chief permanent

DIGHTON, Mass. (WLNE) — The Dighton Board of Selectmen said it plans to place the appointment of Acting Chief George Nichols as permanent police chief on the board’s March 13 meeting agenda.

This comes a day after residents attended the board’s meeting Wednesday to voice their displeasure at the selection of only one outside candidate as a finalist for the position.

Selectman Chair Peter Caron briefly took responsibility at the meeting for how town officials went about choosing Fairhaven Sergeant Timothy Souza as the only finalist for the job.

Souza sent a letter to the board released Wednesday, the full text of which can be read below:

Dear Dighton,

First off, I would like to thank Town Administrator Michael Mullen, Board of Selectmen Chair Peter Caron, and Human Resources Director Karin Brady for their professionalism and kindness throughout the entire Police Chief Selection Process. For this process my involvement started when I saw a job announcement for what appeared to be a perfect opportunity. After a long and grueling process, the possibility of becoming the next Chief of Police of your beautiful community seemed within grasp. As you are aware though, this took a quick turn due to Union and public outcry. As I watched the Selectmen’s meeting of this past Wednesday it was quite apparent that both the Union and townspeople want current Acting Police Chief George Nichols as their next Police Chief and any attempt by me to continue the process would be met with extreme resistance and cause a division in an extremely tight community.

With that I will be officially removing my candidacy as the next Police Chief for the Town of Dighton. I wish the situation was different and I would have had the opportunity to serve you all but it is quite evident the divisive environment my continued candidacy would cause would not be the best for me, my family, or the Dighton Police Department.

To the Dighton Police Union, I commend your dedication and commitment to Acting Chief Nichols. I also respect that this at no point became a personal attack on me, but was simply loyalty to a family member of yours George Nichols. I wish you all the best of luck in your futures in this difficult field and wish for you to remain safe and take care of yourselves for the rest of your careers. You are obviously loved by your townspeople and ask that you keep serving them with respect and professionalism as it appears you have done thus far.

Thank you,

Timothy F. Souza