BELCHERTOWN, MA — Last week, Granby Police made a shocking revelation that lead to Belchertown Police Chief Francis Fox being put on paid administrative leave.
According to the disturbing statement, in February this year police officers found Fox in a poor state in Granby.
He was heavily drunk, driving a police vehicle on the wrong side of the road and was almost about to crash into another car.
He was neither cited, nor arrested at the time.
In fact, the heavily intoxicated police chief intimidated the officer who pulled him over by asking him if he knew who Fox was.
Granby Police Officer Jason Richard said he dropped the drunken man, who was unstable on his feet and reeked of alcohol, to his residence.
Richard made the decision not to take the senior officer into custody, but discussed the matter with his superior.
The two reached the conclusion that the incident needed to be documented despite the fact Fox had not been arrested.
This is especially alarming in light if the fact that the police chief held key positions within the department and community.
He was an instructor with the Municipal Police Training Committee and a part-time adjunct criminal justice professor at Greenfield Community College.
His instructor status is currently suspended due to the charges.
A decision will be made regarding his position in the long term following the outcome of this case.
He does not have any teaching commitments at the community college at the moment.
This case does raise several questions about the transparency of the police system.
Not only was Fox driving under the influence of alcohol, he was putting the lives of other road users in severe danger.
In a country where no one is supposedly above the law, don’t citizens have the right to question why a senior police officer, who should understand the regulations much better than the average civilian, was let off the hook so easily?
