A retired commanding officer in the Portland Police Department and Westbrook’s deputy fire chief will take over as the interim police and fire chiefs in Westbrook when the city’s first public safety director steps down next month.

Janine Roberts, interim police chief, and Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte are both expected to apply for the job running both departments, which Michael Pardue has done since 2011, when the position was created.

Pardue, a retired Ogunquit police chief and town manager, submitted his resignation Monday for a “business opportunity,” he said in a letter to Mayor Colleen Hilton.

Pardue told the Portland Press Herald Tuesday that he had always planned to return his focus to his management consulting business, The Tideview Group, based in Kennebunk.

“Chief Pardue’s eventual return to the private sector was not unexpected,” Hilton said in a press release Wednesday.

Pardue was initially hired by the city as a consultant meant to help turn around the fire department, which had been plagued by sexual harassment problems that led to the discipline of several members of the department and the sudden retirement of the chief.

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Last month, a police officer filed a notice of claim, announcing her intention to sue the city, alleging violations of the Maine Human Rights Act, including sexual harassment, hostile work environment, discrimination on the basis of gender, retaliation and whistleblower discrimination.

In his resignation letter, Pardue called the city’s police department “one of the finest law enforcement agencies in Maine,” and said the fire department “has gone through a very significant cultural change that has resulted in a highly professional work environment.”

Pardue will continue to work through Oct. 10.

Hilton said in the press release that Roberts, who ran the tactical enforcement unit for Portland police, is “an award-winning leader in the arena of community engagement and someone that has inspired the men and women under her command in difficult assignments.”

Turcotte, who joined the Westbrook Fire Department this year, “has quickly earned a reputation for being a consensus builder,” Hilton said.

She said Pardue “has been a wonderful presence in our community … We are grateful for his service and wish him continued success.”


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