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| Corrections officers protest conditions, management |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/31/2004 |
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A top-ranking corrections officer says his reassignment from Concord's men's prison to Shea Farm halfway house is a punishment for speaking out against the New Hampshire Department of Corrections. "I think they're retaliating against me because I stood up to them on some of the issues," said Maj. Daniel Shaw, formerly the prison's highest ranking officer, referring to the department's investigation into last summer's prison escape. "I absolutely didn't want it and it absolutely took me by surprise," Shaw said last Monday of his reassignment as fellow officers picketed department headquarters. Shaw will become the acting director of community corrections. Shaw said the move is unusual because there has never been a major assigned to Shea House. He also said his duties are unclear. In total, the department shuffled 14 top staffers, including Warden Jane Coplan from Concord to a minimum-security prison in Laconia. The officers' union says the moves violate collective bargaining agreements. An e-mail from Les Dolecal, acting corrections commissioner, said the moves are "opportunities to grow and learn and contribute in new ways." "They're supposed to put a position out for bidding," said Gary Smith, the union's chapter president. "They're just picking and choosing who they want to go where." But department spokesman Jeff Lyons said the department is following protocol. The union said the department is trying to slip by bargaining agreements with the open-ended assignments. |
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