GROTON, Connecticut — A grand jury in York County, Maine, indicted former Police Chief Michael Crowley on two felony burglary charges and misdemeanor charges of stalking, criminal trespass and harassment in May.
Crowley served as Groton police chief from 2011 until retiring on Feb. 3, 2014. Shortly before, on Jan. 24, Town Manager Mark Oefinger placed Crowley on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons.
Crowley, 56, of 43 Willow St., Mystic, faces two felony counts of burglary, three counts of misdemeanor stalking and one count each of criminal trespass and telephone harassment, according to the district attorney’s office in Maine. The charges stem from an incident on Feb. 20.
“I’ve got nothing to say,” Crowley said when reached by phone Monday.
A copy of the indictment was not immediately available.
According to court records in Maine, Crowley was arrested by Maine State Police on Feb. 20 and taken to the York County Jail. He was released on Feb. 24 on $2,500 cash bail, according to jail records.
Oefinger said Monday that the charges referenced occurred earlier this year and are not connected to Crowley’s administrative leave when he was chief. Oefinger said it would be inappropriate to comment on the reasons he placed Crowley on leave.
A Worcester, Massachusetts, native, Crowley started his career as a police officer in Hartford and joined the town Police Department in 1984, rising through the ranks before being promoted to deputy chief in 2005.
During the course of his career, he served on the statewide narcotics task force, was a member of the dive team and the bike patrol and a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
On Dec. 10, 2014, Crowley was granted a family medical leave and was out of work for about a month. A day before Oefinger placed Crowley on administrative leave on Jan. 24, emergency medical personnel were called to his home. He had not returned to work before the announcement of his retirement.
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