'Get rid of him or get rid of me': Trump campaign flag in police station sparks dispute between chief, town administrato

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Full headline: ‘Get rid of him or get rid of me’: Trump campaign flag in police station sparks dispute between chief, town administrator (Boston Globe)

By Camilo Fonseca
Globe Staff
Updated February 20, 2025, 2:08 p.m.

The select board in West Boylston has called for a formal hearing in a bitter dispute between the town’s longtime police chief and its new town administrator over the display of a Donald Trump campaign flag inside a gym at police headquarters.

The board is expected to meet with town administrator James Ryan in a closed-door session after Ryan’s clash with Police Chief Dennis Minnich became public last week, according to a statement Wednesday from Select Board Chair Kristina Pedone. The meeting is scheduled for Monday at 4 p.m., after being initially set for Friday, according to the town website.

Minnich, the small town’s chief of police since 1997, said Wednesday he gave the select board a clear ultimatum: “Get rid of him, or get rid of me, because I’m not reporting to the guy.” Minnich said Ryan described the flag as a ??civil rights violation.” Minnich disagreed but complied with his request and took down the flag.

The next week, Minnich said he received another call from Ryan, who said the flag was still up. According to Minnich, Ryan told him he had sent a town employee to the gym to make sure the flag had been taken down. Minnich later learned that a different Trump campaign flag had been hung in the gym. But he remained incensed that Ryan had sent someone to check up on him.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/20/metro/trump-flag-police-chief-town-dispute/?p1=BGSearch_Overlay_Results





(Top photo by Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images. Bottom photo by Dennis Minich.)

[yowzayowzayowza]

1. A surreptitious smear of brown paint would seem to be indicated. n/t