Hampden council hears police briefing on ICE limits, weighs civility pledge

The Hampden Town Council held a workshop Monday night where Police Chief Bailey explained how state law limits his department's cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement. Councilors also reviewed a proposed town civility pledge and agreed to bring a revised draft back for further discussion.

Key points

• Chief Bailey said the Hampden Police Department cannot hold people on ICE civil detainers, share non-public personal information, or place officers under federal immigration supervision, citing a state law that took effect July 29, 2026.
• Bailey said officers have been trained on the new policy and that the department has not yet faced an immigration-related situation, though it continues to work with federal agencies on criminal cases.
• Councilor Walter Jakubas asked whether Hampden police could handle crowd control if ICE operations drew protests; Bailey said officers would protect First Amendment rights and public safety but would not take part in civil immigration enforcement.
• Councilor Eric Jarvi raised concerns about federal officer conduct and asked how local police would respond; Bailey pointed to the department's use of force, de-escalation, duty to intervene, and duty to report policies.
• Chair Matthew LaChance presented a draft civility pledge modeled on similar measures in other cities, and councilors generally supported the idea while suggesting changes, including whether Section 2 duplicates the council's Rules of Procedure.
• Resident Cindy Mitchell spoke in support of the pledge and referenced a past incident involving a councilor, encouraging the council to consider how members support each other.
• Jakubas announced he had distributed a document requesting discussion on amending the subdivision ordinance to create an intermediate local appeal of final Planning Board subdivision decisions through the Board of Appeals.

Next steps

• A revised civility pledge draft will return to the council for further review, with the town manager's office offering to help.
• Jakubas asked that his subdivision ordinance appeal proposal be discussed at an upcoming committee meeting.
• Councilors discussed possibly listing public comment expectations before opening the floor at future meetings.

Read the full transcript