Amesbury police Chief Scholtz steps down for health reasons

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Dave Rogers, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·6 min read
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Mar. 22—AMESBURY — The mayor announced that Police Chief William Scholtz was immediately stepping down due to health concerns and other factors.

In the interim, the police station is now in the hands of Deputy Chief Craig Bailey, who has been the department's second in command since Scholtz was sworn in as chief in July 2017.

"I know that Deputy Chief Bailey will uphold the values that Chief Scholtz has instilled in our police department, and am confident in his abilities to lead the department for as long as is needed," Mayor Kassandra Gove wrote in a press release Thursday to The Daily News.

In a separate message obtained by The Daily News and sent to all city employees, Gove wrote that Bailey would do a "wonderful job and continue to have the support of the entire department and city as we move forward."

But Gove's assessment of "support" is being met with skepticism by former Amesbury police officials.

Those officials sent her a letter in January expressing concern about Bailey's conduct regarding a veteran high-ranking officer in the Police Department. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Daily News.

It also comes after her office confirmed in December that it was looking into anonymous complaints made against the department, with one complaint focusing on the conduct of a high-ranking officer while off duty.

The complaints were included in a letter dropped off at the mayor's office in October and focus on two allegations, including one stemming from the conduct of a high-ranking officer while off duty.

The second allegation involves alleged "time skimming" within the department. Time skimming is a common term used to describe misusing company or municipal time. Examples of time skimming include falsifying time sheets and conducting personal business on company time.

Amesbury Chief of Staff Paul Fahey and Bailey said in December the conduct was investigated internally and by an outside department and that the officer was cleared.

Fahey's statement came about the same time The Daily News received an anonymous letter from people who claim to be Amesbury Police Department employees. The anonymous letter appeared to focus on the same two allegations brought to Fahey's attention.

The unease felt by some over Bailey's appointment as acting chief threatens to overshadow Scholtz's decision to step down after a decades-long career with the department that saw him rise through the ranks to become chief a little less than four years ago.

"I am extremely saddened to announce that I am stepping aside as the chief of police due to personal, medical reasons, and based on the advice of my doctors," Scholtz said in a statement.

Scholtz, 59, began his career as a part-time summer officer in his hometown of Salisbury in 1982. He joined New Hampshire State Police in 1985 before being named a reserve officer for the Amesbury Police Department in 1988.

After a round of personnel layoffs in Amesbury, Scholtz joined the Exeter, New Hampshire, Police Department as a patrolman in 1991 but returned to the city permanently in 1995.

Scholtz was promoted to sergeant in 1998 and became lieutenant detective in 2013, the department's executive officer in 2014, and was named acting police chief after Kevin Ouellet announced his retirement in February 2017. Scholtz was sworn in roughly four months later.

"I have enthusiastically dedicated myself to Amesbury for nearly 30 years, and am privileged to have been a big part of this community," Scholtz said in the same statement. "Since my first day in uniform I have worked hard to foster relationships between the police department and the community, a commitment that never faltered as I progressed through the ranks."

Bailey has worked for the Amesbury Police Department for 24 years. He earned a master's degree in criminal justice and serves in the U.S. Coast Guard. He graduated from the FBI Academy in 2020.

The Jan. 19 letter, signed by former Amesbury Police Chiefs Mark Gagnon and Kevin Ouellet, along with former Deputy Chief Gary Ingham and retired executive officer Jeffrey Worthen, asked Gove to "remedy a situation involving an employee that we feel is rapidly spiraling out of control."

The letter says the employee may be the "victim of arbitrary and capricious discipline primarily due to a personality conflict with Deputy Chief Bailey," and was not the author of the anonymous letters sent to Gove's office and The Daily News.

According to the letter from the former police officials, the employee has worked within the department for 25 years and was never the subject of disciplinary action. The action involved the employee being placed on administrative leave for two months for violating policy when he got a "gun off the street" while off duty and not following protocols.

The letter also alleges the employee was demoted and reassigned to another unit within the department.

"(The employee)'s efforts the day in question was the recovery of a firearm from a known potentially dangerous individual despite the fact that police had no probable cause to obtain a search warrant or to make a warrantless search. We believe (the employee) may have deserved a letter of commendation for his actions that day," the letter reads.

In an interview with a Daily News reporter late last year, Bailey acknowledged the employee was on administrative leave but did not discuss why.

When reached via text Friday, Bailey declined to comment on the allegations.

"I don't have anything to say about the letters," Bailey said, adding that he would be willing to talk about Scholtz's decision to leave.

In an interview Friday morning, Gove said there are no immediate plans to search for a permanent replacement for the police chief.

"We are not there at all yet," Gove said.

Fahey said despite stepping down as chief, Scholtz remains with the department.

Scholtz, according to Fahey, filed for Massachusetts General Law 111F benefits that provide leave without loss of pay for a period of time if an officer is injured while on the job. His salary upon being sworn in was $155,000 per year.

As for allegations of disharmony within the department, Fahey said every police station, big or small, has conflicts or grievances. But those conflicts are handled internally and covered by employee confidentiality.

Gove said she stuck by her comment that Bailey had the support of the entire Police Department, adding that no current employee oft the department has spoken to her about conflicts or issues brought up by recent complaints.

Dave Rogers is a staff writer with The Daily News. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.

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