Former Constable Not Issuing Tickets For Orleans Sheriff
Tena Starr
Staff Writer
The Orleans County Sheriff's Department is baffled.
Late last week, its office started getting swamped with phone calls from people, as well as town officials, saying they were upset that former Brighton Constable Ted Miller had been hired by the sheriff's department and is patrolling and issuing tickets in their towns.
The trouble is that it's not true, said deputy Kirk Martin, who is acting sheriff in the absence of Sheriff Lance Bowen, who is ill.
"Ted is not working for us," Martin said Monday. "I've been here since 1999, and Ted has never issued a ticket for us. Ted has not patrolled for us. Ted has not done a transport."
He said he does not know how to emphasize enough that Miller is not an active employee of the Orleans County Sheriff's Department. He wants it known that he isn't, because his office has been flooded with unfounded complaints and inquiries.
Miller was voted out as Brighton constable this month, after years of controversy in Island Pond about his supposedly aggressive policing, which many said drove tourists and others away from the town. Island Pond has a file of complaints from people who feel they were treated unfairly, and it's been common to see letters to the editor in area newspapers about Miller.
Darren "Bucky" Tardif was elected as Brighton's new constable.
Miller has been on the roster for the Orleans County Sheriff's Department since about 1987, but not active, Martin said.
For some reason, following town meeting and Miller's ouster, rumors began to circulate in Orleans County that he had been hired full-time by the sheriff's department, and the phone calls started to come in, Martin said.
"We've been bombarded with phone calls," he said. "People are telling us that Ted is writing tickets, but Ted Miller has not issued any tickets. Ted is not working for us. Everybody's been saying the same thing. You talk to people, and they're adamant that he's working and that somebody got tickets. We're getting a rap for something that's not happening.
Brian Smith, chairman of the Derby selectmen, was one of those callers.
He said he received several phone calls himself from citizens who were concerned about Miller patrolling the town. Derby is one of several Orleans County towns that has a contract for patrol services with the sheriff's department.
Smith said that, personally, he thought Miller did a fairly good job by Island Pond, but as a Derby selectman, he had to respond to citizens' concerns.
"As chair of the select board, I need to know these things," he said.
He said Martin reassured him that Miller is not working for the sheriff's department.
Bob Croteau, chairman of the Barton selectmen, also called Martin.
"I bet you there's been 100 people who've called," he said. "We have a contract with them, and we can't stop them from hiring somebody. That's really the sheriff's decision. We heard it, and I scoped it out."
He said the other Barton selectmen have called as well.
"If people didn't have an issue, they wouldn't have said anything," he said. "I've talked to at least four other people who had heard he was in town, and they were incensed about it. The gossip in Orleans was that he was there and passing out tickets."
Most people do not want the kind of aggressive policing that Miller is reputed to have done, Croteau said. "He may not be a bad person, but it just got to be overboard with enforcing some of these laws."
Miller's supposed new post at the sheriff's department was the gossip throughout the county and caused an immediate uproar. The fear that he might be working for the sheriff's department has turned into a referendum on what kind of policing people don't want.
The speed limit on the interstate is 65 mph, and it's technically legal to ticket someone for driving 66 mph, but police rarely do, Croteau said.
That kind of by-the-book policing is not what people want, he said.
Another unfounded rumor was that Miller had ticketed a man in Barton for having an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.
The fine for that is $144, Martin said, "but it's a rarity that people get those."
Yves Daigle, chairman of the board of selectmen in Westfield, said people at the general store had been saying Miller was working for the sheriff's department.
"Some people said, if he's on there next year, we're not going to give an appropriation to the sheriff's department. I don't think we need that kind of policing in Westfield. I think it's over the line."
He said people expect police to have some discretion and common sense. For instance, he said that he knows a couple of people who have prayer beads over their rearview mirrors to keep them safe while driving. It's not likely they know it's a violation of the law, and it's hard enough to get by these days without being fined for breaking the law by having a Rosary in the wrong place in your car.
Miller could not be reached.
Smith said it's his understanding that he has sold his house and is moving out of state.
The Brighton town clerk's office said no property transaction has come through.