At the 11th hour, the town of Richmond backed out of its plan to bring on Anthony Cambridge as its police chief.
Richmond Town Manager Josh Arneson made the announcement Monday night after a roughly 30-minute closed-door meeting with the selectboard.
“I have an update regarding the police chief position,” Arneson said when the officials came out of their executive session, according to a video of the proceeding by Mount Mansfield Community Television. “The update is that we will not be going forward with Anthony Cambridge’s employment with the town.”
Arneson then added, “I am not going to comment on any details based on it being a personnel matter.”
The selectboard offered no insight into the decision Monday night — their only comment on the subject came from Selectboard Chair Dave Sander, who simply thanked the town manager.
Arneson, in an email Tuesday morning, reiterated that he would have no comment “based on it being a personnel matter.”
VTDigger reported last week that Cambridge had faced scrutiny by Hinesburg town and police officials for deleting security footage and shredding documents in the time leading up to his departure.
Cambridge denied any wrongdoing.
Neither Cambridge nor his attorney, Pietro Lynn, immediately returned messages Tuesday seeking comment.
Cambridge had announced in January that he would be resigning as police chief in Hinesburg to take a job leading the police force of the next-door community of Richmond.
He had served under an interim-municipal agreement as the police chief for both towns over a two-year period, with Richmond paying Hinesburg an annual fee.
His start date for the job in Richmond had twice been pushed back and most recently had been set for Tuesday.
A “hire letter” from the town of Richmond, dated Jan. 6, and signed by Cambridge and Arneson, laid out the terms of Cambridge’s hiring to the full-time position.
According to the letter, Cambridge would receive an annual salary of $99,958, plus health and dental benefits, and an annual stipend of $3,000 for residing in Richmond. He was to work under the direction of the Richmond town manager, the letter stated.
“This letter of hire does not entail a contract agreement,” the two-page document stated. “There is no implied or stated promise of continued employment and the Selectboard reserves the right to terminate this position at any time.”
The letter ended, “We are certain that you will find this position to be very interesting and challenging.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Richmond sacks ex-Hinesburg police chief hours before his start date.