SOUTHBOROUGH —
Selectmen last night unanimously voted to deny to pay medical leave for an inactive police officer who has accused the town of covering up misconduct within the department.
Michael Crenshaw of Millville has been on unpaid leave since July 2011. In a Daily News article published on Dec. 25, 2011, Crenshaw said that stress from being unfairly punished for trying to blow the whistle on another officer’s “mind-boggling” misconduct caused him to break out in shingles and rendered him unable to work.
Selectmen disagreed with that notion last night, voting without comment to approve the denial as part of its consent agenda — a portion of its agenda it normally uses to approve several items at once.
Town Administrator Jean Kitchen said she couldn’t comment on the issue Monday, citing health privacy laws.
Crenshaw filed a claim with the town under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 41, Section 111F, which states that municipalities must pay officers’ salaries if they have injuries sustained from the performance of their duties.
Crenshaw declined to comment on the matter via email. He is still awaiting reply to numerous complaints filed with state agencies — including the attorney general, inspector general and State Ethics Commission — alleging that Sgt. Timothy Slatkavitz improperly released prisoners on numerous occasions and that the town did nothing about it.