Former Milford Chief O'Loughlin's Lawsuit Against Town In Mediation

MILFORD, MA — A lawsuit against the town by former Milford police chief and current Select Board member Tom O'Loughlin could be headed toward a conclusion with the matter now in mediation, according to court records.

The Milford Select Board will meet in closed session Thursday to discuss the legal matter. He filed the suit in November 2018 after the board voted 2-1 not to renew his contract, leaving it to expire in June 2019. O'Loughlin's suit says the town and then-select board members violated the terms of his contract by failing to properly negotiate a renewal.

A judge dismissed the parts of the lawsuit about contract violations in May 2019, but allowed a portion of the lawsuit accusing town officials — including former select board members William Buckley and William Kingkade Jr. — of defamation for releasing a letter to local media that described allegations of impropriety against O'Loughlin.

In June 2022, a Worcester Superior Court judge dismissed a defamation claim against Kingkade, but allowed a claim against Buckley to continue as part of the lawsuit.

Ever since that ruling, the lawsuit has been on hold due to a series of continuances. A June 16 filing shows that both sides agreed to move a pre-trial conference to Aug. 15, and in the meantime continue mediation sessions. A first mediation session was held in May, and was suspended so the town and current select board members could discuss the negotiations.

Michael Walsh is the only member of the Milford Select Board still in office from the vote not to renew O'Loughlin's contract in 2018. Walsh voted in favor of renewing the contract.

O'Loughlin served as chief for nearly two decades. He won the seat vacated by Buckley in 2020.

Since O'Loughlin's departure, the town has had a series of chiefs. Michael Pighetti took over for O'Loughlin in 2019 in what was supposed to be a temporary assignment. In early 2020, the town formed a search committee and picked Baltimore police Maj. James Rhoden Jr. for the job. He turned down the offer, so Pighetti was hired as chief on a three-year contract. After about a year, the select board placed Pighetti on administrative leave to investigate the circumstances of a January 2021 traffic stop Pighetti initiated. In October 2021, the select board fired Pighetti over that stop. Chief James Falvey was given a two-year contract after Pighetti's termination, and he's retiring this fall. A search committee headed by Select Board Chair Paul Mazzuchelli is working on finding Falvey's replacement.

The select board is set to meet in executive session to discuss the lawsuit at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to an agenda.