WOODSTOCK — Village trustees concluded that evidence of the town police chief’s lack of leadership was so “damning” that they were left with no choice but to uphold the municipal manager’s decision to demote him to the entry-level rank he held when joining the force as a rookie 25 years ago.

A 47-page “Findings of Fact” report details numerous personnel issues involving Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson that led Municipal Manager Eric Duffy to determine — and the five Village trustees to uphold — that morale had suffered so significantly under Swanson’s leadership that he could no longer lead the department.

Swanson, who following a paid administrative leave has been back at work as a patrol officer since April 24, filed dual court motions in the wake of the trustees’ public release of their April 17 decision.

The first motion seeks a preliminary injunction to block the town from hiring a new police chief and a new sergeant — the latter who is currently filling in as interim chief — until the court rules on the merits of the second motion, which seeks to reverse the town’s decision to demote Swanson.

Under Vermont law, Swanson had 30 days to file an appeal of the trustees’ decision.

“We’re taking two separate tracks here for the pursuit of justice,” Linda Fraas, Swanson’s attorney explained to the Valley News about the succession of multiple court petitions.

“The first one is that Joe really wants his job back. The second one is because Joe’s reputation has been damaged irreparably by the actions of the town and the only way that can be recovered is through a civil lawsuit.”

The latest legal salvos follow a civil lawsuit Swanson filed earlier this month in Windsor County Superior Court seeking $5 million in punitive damages, alleging that he was unlawfully ousted from his job and “maliciously maligned” by town officials whom, he suggested in court documents, treat heterosexual employees differently in disciplinary matters.

The lawsuit alleges that the trustees had no legal basis to demote the police chief under his contract with the town and lobs back counterexamples of alleged conflicts of interest, favoritism, secret dealings and ethical lapses by some trustees as they sought to push Swanson out of his job.

The “Findings of Fact,” which the trustees initially balked at publicly releasing, incorporates many of the same complaints testified by Woodstock Police Department employees during a March public hearing held before the trustees at Swanson’s request to challenge Duffy’s decision to bump him down to the lowest rank on the department’s ladder.

Trustees Chair Seton McIlroy said via email to the Valley News that although she couldn’t speak for the other members of the Board, “I chose to vote ‘yes’ because I believe it’s appropriate under the circumstances.”

(Regardless, the Board’s 4-0 vote of reversal — one trustee was absent — to release the document publicly was rendered moot when Swanson’s attorney attached it as an exhibit to the preliminary injunction motion).

Over the course of hearing’s 14 ½ hours, several members of the police department, including Sgt. Chris O’Keefe, the department’s No. 2 and currently interim chief, described incidents of Swanson’s loose management style, which in their view contributed to tension and low morale among department personnel during his 15 months as police chief.

Police department employees testified that Swanson frequently had “unnotified absences” from work, did not adhere to the hours as specified in his contract, could be hard to reach, failed to respond to investigatory matters in a timely or thorough fashion, was inconsistent or unresponsive in exercising discipline, could be dismissive of coworkers’ concerns, reported for duty out of full uniform, and kept a “messy” office, among other complaints and infractions.

Dissatisfaction reached a boiling point earlier this year when both of the police department’s employee bargaining units — each of which has only a handful of members — issued “no confidence” votes against Swanson and asked Duffy, the municipal manager, to find a new police chief.

The chief’s work habits, style and inconsistent communication with the five-officer police force, dispatchers and administrative staff led to low morale within the department, the trustees wrote in their “Findings” report — even though, they noted, Duffy had given Swanson a largely positive review in his first performance evaluation.

(Duffy said he only became aware of discontent within the department following Swanson’s performance review).

Swanson — who did not dispute his office was messy — has countered that the complaints were distorted, taken out of context or misinterpreted reactions to things he said. He has said he considered department morale to be overall “high, at least on most occasions,” despite “some ripples and bumps.”

He also presented evidence that he responded to more than 900 off-hour dispatcher calls during his 15 months as police chief, including on weekends, holidays and vacation.

But, based on testimony from Duffy and police department personnel given during the March hearing and after reviewing documents submitted from attorneys for both sides, the trustees concurred that the municipal manager had made the right call.

Duffy’s “decision to demote Swanson was based not on one particular violation,” they wrote in the “Findings” report. “Rather, (Duffy) based his decision on the totality of complaints and the combined evidence regarding Swanson’s conduct and performance as police chief.”

The municipal manager “believes the chief of police must be an ambassador to the community and must provide leadership, direction of Police Department strategies and related policies, training (and) supervision of employees, and discipline where warranted and … must be able to build relationships in the community and with employees,” the report said.

Ultimately, the trustees concluded, Swanson “did not meet Duffy’s expectations that he function as a role model while serving as chief of police.”

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.