LYNDEBOROUGH — The police department has undergone a drastic shakeup in the last few days with the resignation of its top officer, the firing of the second in command, and a part-time officer now in charge.

On Saturday, Capt. Thomas Burke, the department's officer in charge, or OIC, resigned from the department after months of conflict with the board of selectmen that including numerous non-public sessions, an investigation by the Attorney General's Office that yielded no charges against anyone in town government, and a $20,000 legal bill though it's never been made clear what the town needed the attorney for.

Then on Monday, the department's second in command, Sgt. Paul Roy, was terminated when he showed up for work.

On Tuesday, the selectmen posted a non-public meeting for 5 p.m. but held much of the meeting in public with the remaining members of the police department in attendance.

Chairman Arnold Byam announced that Officer Rainsford Deware, a retired policeman with 23 years' experience who has worked part-time in Lyndeborough since October, would be the department's new chief officer.

“In the short term, Rance is going to step up and run things for us,” said Byam.

Deware, who spent 17 years as an officer in Milford and works part-time in Lyndeborough, Brookline and Mont Vernon, has already assumed the responsibilities as OIC and been promoted to sergeant.

Byam told the officers Tuesday night that the board wanted to open lines of communication with members of the department and to ensure they had the equipment they needed to carry out their responsibilities.

He said that things at the department “changed up kind of haphazardly and out of the blue,” and said that if the officers had any issues, to make them known and “not let them fester.”

But Lee Mayhew, a Lyndeborough resident and former Milford town administrator, and Milford Police Chief Frederick Douglas, who also lives in town, said the loss of Burke and Roy was no surprise to anyone paying attention to town politics in recent months.

Douglas said he's not confident anyone can lead the police department given the attitude the board has shown both the department and the public recently.

“With what I've witnessed in the last month with the board of selectmen, I don't know that anyone could do their job under these circumstances,” said Douglas.

Mayhew said the board has continually showed contempt for the public, strictly limiting the opportunity for the public to comment during meetings and keeping information from the voters they represent.

“There's been evidence of rudeness to long-serving citizens of town, at best some stretching of the truth, ambiguousness, evasiveness and disrespect,” said Mayhew.

“When you shut down the ability for citizens to ask a question,” said Douglas, “democracy starts to fail.”

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Nancy Bean Foster may be reached at nfoster@newstote.com.