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NORTH MANCHESTER - North Manchester Police Sgt. Mark Henderson was not terminated Wednesday but will be punished for reported insubordinate actions against police chief Linda L. Learned.
North Manchester safety board unanimously approved a five-day suspension without pay, demotion to patrolman and a six-month probation period followed by an evaluation, as the sergeant's punishment.
The board also agreed to a re-evaluation of the entire police department.
"I accept and stand by (the board's) decision," Learned said after the hearing.
Henderson called the decision "encouraging."
No safety board member thought Henderson's actions were worthy of termination, but "what did occur cannot and will not be tolerated," said councilman Bill Hix.
Henderson was caught on tape demeaning his chief, calling her "incompetent" and shouting obscenities at her after he mishandled a civil case with possible severe liabilities.
The blow-up started with a domestic dispute between a boyfriend and girlfriend. Henderson and fellow officer Sgt. Jeff Perry released a child to the boyfriend without parental rights.
Learned received a telephone call about the boyfriend's lack of rights and acted on the information. The child was back with its mother within hours, according to testimony heard during the Sept. 4 hearing.
"I didn't fault the sergeant," Learned said while testifying at that same hearing. "That's how we all learn. Civil law is the grayest area there is."
The Henderson-Learned conflict has been brewing for years, Henderson said at the hearing.
That background, council president Don Rinearson said Wednesday, is "more the point" of the issue "to weigh out."
Without a series of prior incidents, "I would not tolerate this," he said. Both parties should have worked out the problem instead of forcing a public hearing.
"What we heard the other night was not a good message," he said.
"Manchester's finest ... sticks in my throat," Escott said.
Henderson's actions were "a default in standards," he said, "a sergeant unloading on a chief."
More information about the department's re-evaluation will be given at the next town council meeting Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.
North Manchester safety board is: president Don Rinearson, vice president Stan Escott, Karl Merritt, Warren Garner and Bill Hix.
