Milford Chief Defends Actions That Led To Administrative Leave

MILFORD, MA — Milford police chief Michael Pighetti is speaking out about the incident that led to the Select Board voting to place him on administrative leave, and says the Select Board's actions may have been preordained.

Pighetti was placed on leave on Feb. 8 following a Select Board executive session. In a statement released Tuesday, Pighetti said he attended the closed-door meeting, but wasn't allowed to speak. He said the board "arrived at negative determinations" before the meeting began — and that the meeting details were leaked to the media. Shortly after the meeting ended, WBZ reported on the vote to place Pighetti on administrative leave.

Pighetti said he was placed on administrative leave following a Jan. 28 incident near Congress and West streets. Pighetti said he was driving his town-issued car when he saw another driver run a red light and almost hit several cars along Congress. Pighetti pulled the driver over and talked to him, he said in the statement, before other officers arrived at the scene.

The Jan. 28 police blotter says a Milford man was issued a citation by officers along Bow Street near 5 p.m. for driving without insurance and driving an unregistered vehicle.

In a statement on Feb. 9, Town Administrator Richard Villani said the Select Board had started an investigation into "allegations [Pighetti] exercised unauthorized and unnecessary police powers."

Milford Lt. James Falvey was appointed interim chief following the Feb. 8 Select Board vote.

Pighetti was the department's interim chief up until last March, when the Select Board voted to hire him for a three-year term. The town had conducted a nationwide search for a new chief, but the top candidate turned down the town's job offer.

In 2019, former chief Tom O'Loughlin left the job, and the town appointed Pighetti as the interim chief over Falvey, who was deputy chief at the time. A group of Milford residents then sued the town over Pighetti's appointment, alleging he was not qualified to be chief because he retired in 2013, and had not completed police academy training before assuming the chief's role. That lawsuit was dismissed in October 2019, according to state court records.

O'Loughlin, who was elected to the Select Board in 2020, called for the Feb. 8 executive session that ended in Pighetti getting placed on leave.

The day after Pighetti was placed on leave, Patch filed a public records request asking the town for any complaints filed against Pighetti in recent months. In a response, Villani said the town didn't have any such documents.

Here's Pighetti's full statement released Tuesday: