Overview
- The Stoughton Select Board voted after a closed executive session Wednesday night to put Town Manager Thomas Calter and Police Chief Donna McNamara on paid administrative leave and to hire an independent investigator to review competing allegations.
- McNamara withdrew a scheduled court hearing seeking immediate reinstatement but her breach-of-contract lawsuit remains active and has been amended to add claims under the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act.
- In court filings McNamara alleges Calter ordered her to destroy a second internal affairs report related to the 2021 death of Sandra Birchmore and that she faced retaliation for cooperating with federal investigators; Calter denies the accusations.
- Calter previously removed McNamara from duty earlier this month after citing an unspecified complaint about her management, a complaint McNamara’s attorneys say they have not seen in writing.
- The dispute has prompted public rallies, union complaints to the state Department of Labor Relations, and heightened scrutiny of town governance, with possible effects on the upcoming criminal trial connected to the Birchmore matter and local oversight of public safety.