In May 1954 Lucien Vigneault succeeded Hubert O'Neil as head of the Jaffrey Police Department.  Chief Vigneault, a native of Nashua, was a strong presence in town.  In 1955 a  new structure to house the town office, court, and police department was built.  On September 1, 1965, Chief Vigneault suffered a fatal heart attack.  The department was shocked and saddened by the sudden loss of its leader.

Roland W. Desrosiers

presenting 

Chief Lucien Vigneault 

with the keys to the new cruiser

1960

The department has grown considerably since Chief Arthur Rivard succeeded Lucien Vigneault in 1965.  By 1970 the department had six police officers and several part-time officers.  Edith A. Peard was the police matron for many years, and longtime residents will remember Special Police Officer Arthur H. Hunt directing church traffic and patrolling every Sunday morning.

August 19, 1981, marked the saddest day in Jaffrey Police history to date.  In the wee hours of the morning, while responding to back up his partner on a burglary-in-progress call, Supervisor William E. O'Neil, Sr. gave his life in the line of duty.  He is the only Jaffrey officer to have done so.  He was killed when the cruiser he was driving skidded out of control into a tree on Turnpike Road just east of the Silver Ranch area.

Thirty-eight-year-old "Bill" O'Neil was a six-year veteran of the department, a loving husband and father of two children, ages 12 and seven at the time of his death.  He was a grandson of Chief Hubert O'Neil.  Officer O'Neil's funeral at the Rindge Congregational Church was attended by police officers from all over the Northeast.  He was laid to rest on a warm summer day, just the kind of day he so enjoyed sharing with his young family.  Friends and family members fondly remember Bill as a "gentle giant," who stood about six feet four and weighed over 200 pounds.  His presence was certainly felt, for he was a warm and caring person.

Chief Rivard announced his retirement in early 1982.  Barry E. Sasner, a supervisor and seven-year member of the force, served as acting chief of police during the search for Chief Rivard's replacement.  Acting Chief Sasner would leave law enforcement during the tenure of his successor and go on to become the Jaffrey Town Clerk until his untimely passing in August 1987.

Leonard DiMarco, who had served as a member of the Detroit, Michigan, Harbor Police and as a chief of police in Livermore Falls, Maine, became the new chief in September 1982.  Chief DiMarco's vision for the department was much different from that of his predecessors.  Setting and achieving very high standards and becoming a source of community pride were phrases he used in his first and only annual report to the Town of Jaffrey.  Less than a year later Chief DiMarco resigned his post in the midst of allegations of wrongdoing.  The department, after losing veteran members and feeling the effects of the quick departure of its leader, was once again searching for a chief of police.  Sergeant David Roberts was designated as "Sergeant in Charge" during this period of time.  He would go on to become chief of police in Litchfield, New Hampshire, in 1985.

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