By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First

(A version of this story appeared in the Vermont Standard on Thursday)

WOODSTOCK — Woodstock Police Chief Joseph Swanson has been placed on paid administrative leave while the Vermont State Police investigates a motor vehicle complaint involving his husband, officials said this week.

Woodstock Municipal Manager Eric Duffy announced late Tuesday afternoon that he had put Swanson on paid leave earlier that morning “as a precaution following a report of his alleged involvement in an incident that occurred on Sunday Oct. 13.”

Duffy said the Vermont State Police has been asked to conduct the investigation of the incident, but he declined to specify the type of matter.

The incident was the aftermath of a motor vehicle incident involving Woodstock lawyer Nicholas “Nico” Seldon, according to multiple sources, who said they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

A lawyer for Seldon told the Vermont Standard she had advised her client not to comment on the incident.

“My client was not the aggressor in this instance. The complainant was the aggressor,” Manchester, N.H. Attorney Linda Fraas said Wednesday.

She said Swanson did nothing wrong and just happened to be there.

“The police chief is simply a witness to the incident on Sunday,” Fraas said.

She said the town manager’s statement was misleading about the chief and she asked Duffy to modify his comments.

She said there is no complaint against Chief Swanson.

Vermont State Police spokesman Adam Silverman, when asked Tuesday afternoon about the incident, said he was limited on what he could say because the investigation is in its preliminary stages.

“It is important to note that, generally speaking, just because an investigation involves a specific individual, that does not necessarily mean the individual is a target of the investigation,” Silverman said in an email.

Attempts to reach Swanson, who has been chief for 16 months, were unsuccessful.

Seldon is a partner in the Woodstock law firm, Shillen, Mackall Seldon & Spicer on Maxham Meadow Way. He is a Vermont Law School graduate.

The request by Duffy for a criminal investigation came on Monday, one day after the incident, Silverman said.

State Police Major Dan Trudeau, commander of the criminal division, said veteran Detective Sgt. Jesse Robson has been assigned to conduct the investigation. Robson, who works in Southern Vermont, has no known connections to the police chief.

Duffy has named Woodstock Police Sgt. Chris O’Keeffe as the acting police chief to lead the department, but put no cap on how long he would be needed.

O’Keeffe spent nearly 11 years with the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles as an Enforcement and Safety Inspector. He began his law enforcement career as an emergency dispatcher for Hartford Public Safety in 2008 and moved over to become a patrol officer a year later.

Woodstock hired O’Keeffe, 42, in November to fill a vacant slot as a sergeant.

O’Keeffe, in response to a public records request on Wednesday, said there was a complaint received at the Woodstock Public Safety Building late Sunday afternoon. An investigation began, but he was later called at home as the senior-ranking officer and a decision was made to stop the investigation and refer the complaint to the Vermont State Police. O’Keeffe did not elaborate.

Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough said Wednesday he was aware of the complaint and it would be premature to comment before the investigation is completed.

Swanson was chairman of the Woodstock Town Selectboard until May 2023 when he took a leave to apply for the police chief post. He also served four years as an elected town auditor. He has been an Emergency Medical Technician for Woodstock Ambulance Service since July 2007.

Duffy and the Village Trustees announced the promotion of Swanson to police chief in July 2023.

Swanson grew up in Woodstock and was educated in local schools. He originally joined Woodstock Police in 2000 as a part-time officer while attending the University of Southern Maine where he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science. He spent the summer of 2002 as a Reserve Officer at the Kennebunk (Maine) Police Department.

Swanson became a full-time officer in Woodstock in May 2007, was promoted to corporal in July 2013 and eventually elevated to the rank of sergeant in September 2014.

Swanson served in the Vermont Army National Guard from 2005-2012 including a deployment to Afghanistan in 2010. Swanson also received a master’s degree in business administration from Franklin Pierce University.

Swanson replaced Police Chief Blish, who stepped down after 12 years at the helm in Woodstock.

Swanson is an award-winning police officer and the son of late town manager Phil Swanson.

Chief Swanson was named the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Vermont American Legion in 2022. He also won the department’s Medal of Honor for his response to a homicide in June 2022 in which he was wounded by the gunman in a shootout. The suspect later committed suicide as police moved in to end a 9-hour standoff on Slayton Terrace.

The New England Police Benevolent Association, the union representing the Woodstock officers, also honored him for his response to the homicide.