Wolfeboro police commission addresses officer retention, institutes formal exit‑interview process

At a meeting of the Wolfeboro Police Commission (date not specified), Police Chief Sean Coop and commissioners responded to public complaints about officer departures and low street presence by announcing a new, townwide exit‑interview process and continuing work toward state accreditation.

The issue of officer retention and internal investigations drew the meeting's longest public comment. Pete Lewellen, a retired Wolfeboro police officer and resident, told the commission: "I believe that a majority of the police commission is not acting in the best interest of their constituents and the town of Wolf Earl and that they may have an agenda." Lewellen pressed the commission for information on internal investigations, exit interviews offered to departing officers and the status of an investigation he said had been submitted to police standards and training in Concord.

The concerns prompted a procedural change. Police Chief Sean Coop said he…