The Hooksett Police Commission considered grievances filed by officer Jason Defina at a public hearing on Monday, April 13, but did not render any decisions, other than to dismiss three of the complaints.

The hearing took place at the Hooksett Town Council chambers, which filled to overflowing with supporters of Defina and other interested onlookers. Defina was disputing several suspension he received.

Defina’s attorney, Bill Cahill, tried to get commissioners David Gagnon and Henry Roy to recuse themselves from the hearing based on comments they had made at earlier times regarding Defina’s honesty and character. Neither commissioner stepped down.

“The union stands by motion for recusal,” said Cahill. “We strongly suggest commissioners consider what was said. Third parties will be looking at this in the future.”

Cahill also tried to get the commissioners to listen to the audience. Cahill quoted from e-mails presented to him just before the meeting, such as one from Hooksett Budget Committee member Mark Miville that he objected to the hearing going forward, believing there to be a bias against Defina.

The dismissed grievances had to do with the timing of their submission. The commission agreed with the Police Department’s assessment that the complaints were filed before the police chief had actually decided to implement discipline, and would have to be resubmitted to be valid.

The commissioners then considered whether it was proper for Defina to be called back to work on his day off to submit further information to the police chief regarding violent incidents in Hooksett schools following publication of a letter to the editor in The Hooksett Banner written by then-School Board Chairman Maura Ouellette.

Cahill pointed out that the union’s contract allows officers to be called back to work for emergencies, and having Defina come back to work to deal with what he termed a “public relations” issue was a violation of the contract.

“Did anyone think the knowledge he had on Friday was going to disappear on Saturday?” asked Cahill. “He was called in as result of a newspaper article on his day off. It was not an emergency. It did not advance any benefit to department.”

The Police Department’s attorney, Elizabeth Bailey, countered that calling Defina in did not violate the wording of the contract.

“Note that Defina being called in on day off was not (the chief’s) first option,” she said. “He first talked to Capt. (Paul) Cecilio. He wanted Defina to clear up things. That’s a good thing for the chief to do. He shouldn’t delay. The letter in paper didn’t jibe with his understanding of what was going on. There’s been no violation here.” The last grievance centered on Defina’s handling of reading about himself in the newspaper and then taping the story with a sticky note to the Lt. Cline’s door.

Cline had found that action to be disrespectful and discourteous and recommended Defina be put on suspension for a day, but later talked things through and all agreed counseling would be sufficient.

However, shortly thereafter, Cecilio wrote out a very detailed list of expectations for Defina as the school resource officer, which Defina responded to with questions Cecilio found sarcastic. Cecilio recommended a twoday suspension for Defina as a result.

Cahill countered that Defina was not disrespectful. “There was no swearing, no profanity,” he said. “I think it’s a stretch to say that it’s rude.” Cahill noted that Cecilio’s memo went overboard in detail and seems to require the school resource officer to be in two places at once at times, and required Defina to fill out a daily “SRO log,” that didn’t exist. Defina was pleased with the support shown by those attending the meeting, which would typically not have been open to the public.

“Unbelievable,” he said. “The community has not stopped being there for me. They care.” The Hooksett Police Commission adjourned, setting Wednesday, April 15, for the next phase of the hearing.