City of

GREENFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

GREENFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT

Robert H. Haigh Jr.
Chief of Police
Virginia DeSorgher
Mayor 321 High Street • Greenfield, MA O I 30 I
Phone 413-773-5411 • Fax 413-774-6969
robert.haigh@greenfield-ma.gov

Date: February 15, 2024

To: The Honorable Virginia DeSorgher

Dear Mayor DeSorgher,

I am leaving the Greenfield Police Department with great sadness and a job unfinished. I am not
leaving because I want to, but because of your refusal to support this department and your Chief.

In 2013 I came to Greenfield to become the Police Chief of a department that was in great
turmoil. There was a shortage of staff, no permanent leadership, and low morale. Some felt I
was a political appointment; however, I knew I wasn't, and the notion was completely
inaccurate. In fact, I was asked to meet with the mayor to help Greenfield find a new chief, and
while I was a Civil Service chief myself, I had no desire to leave Orange. I was newly married,
and planning a family, and would have to move within ten miles of Greenfield leaving a fairly
new home behind.

Additionally, it was well played out publicly that the Mayor's Office and Police Department
were adversarial and quite frankly nasty to one another. Despite all that I gave Mayor Martin a
plan that I felt would bring Greenfield PD back, and beyond, to a level of respect the had not
had. Mayor Martin asked when I wanted to start, and I returned home and had a long
conversation about my desire to make Greenfield into a department that was respected across the
State.

In the years following, pay structures were changes to bring interest to Greenfield, I pushed and
succeeded in getting the Greenfield Police Department out of Civil Service to allow for a larger
reach to bring in more diversity, and ultimately brought the Greenfield Police Department to the
level of Accreditation. This was done through collaboration with the City Administration, the
department leadership, and very cooperative officers. This was because we respected each other.
I was treated by my boss fairly, and I treated the members of the GPD with respect and gave time
for people to get over the old ways and move to the new ones. I even became the President of
the Western Mass Chiefs, a first for Greenfield, and am still a member of the FBI Executive
Board in Springfield.

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The City ofGreenfield is an Affirmative Action 1 Eq11al Opportumty Employer,
a designated Green Community and a recipient of the ..leading by Example" Award
I joined and supported organizations that needed police involvement. The Opioid Task Force,
Anti-Crime Task Force, and Domestic Violence task force just to name a few. It was important
for me to be involved, and while certain officers had no interest in any of this, it was my job to
help them see a new direction. We have three k9 officers, all donated. There hadn't been k9s in
Greenfield in years. We created a partnership with CSO to establish a co-response program that
is being used as a model throughout the State. Our accreditation process is one that departments
from all over the State come to see and model themselves after. Additionally, I have had the
honor to supervise a professional dispatch department, a regional animal control program, and
the parking enforcement for the city. I have been a police officer for 27 years, without one
reprimand from my superiors. I take pride in that.

It is with such disappointment and sadness that I must retire to protect myself, my family, and
the department. The people of the Greenfield Police Department deserve support from above,
and deserve to be recognized for what they do, and should be. Against my desire to continue to
be the Chief of Police for the City of Greenfield, I am forced to say goodbye.

Respectfully,

cu

Rob!�-�g1 j<- (/--

Chief of Police, Greenfield, Massachusetts
November 11, 2013-February 16, 2024

Cc: File

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The City ofGreenfield is an Affirmative Action1 Equal Opportunity Employer,
a designated Green Community and a recipient ofthe "Leading by Example" Award