Sexual Harassment Investigation Hits Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office

BOSCAWEN, NH — As the Merrimack County’s sheriff attempts to seek a second term, the office he is leading has been rocked by sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct complaints and a departure of dozens of employees during the past 20 months — including a lieutenant with more than a dozen years of experience, who resigned instead of being terminated.

Between Jan. 2021, when David Croft, a Democrat, took office, and Sept. 1, the human resources department for the county received five inappropriate conduct complaints and three sexual harassment complaints.

Sara Lewko, the HR director for the county, confirmed there was one investigation in the department based on the complaints.

One of those dozens of departures was Richard Arell Jr., a lieutenant who resigned instead of being dismissed after 14 years on the job. He was placed on paid administrative leave on May 17 after a sexual harassment complaint involving multiple allegations of inappropriate language and touching of employees.

According to documents received by Patch through 91-a right-to-know requests, in mid-May, a supervisor within the department received a report from an employee regarding “sexual remarks” made by Arell. He was immediately placed on administrative leave, and the county hired Drummond Woodsum, a Manchester law firm, to investigate the claims.

Ten staffers or former staffers were interviewed, according to the report, including several complainants and witnesses who said Arell used “concerning language” in the department’s lunchroom. He asked one male staffer if he was “playing with his pee pee,” a witness said.

Arell then turned to another staffer, who was in the process of resigning, and suggested she would soon be engaging in all kinds of sexual acts with another person, would have plenty of time to please them sexually, and “would need kneepads,” the report said.

In another incident, staffers said Arell commented to another man in the department warning him to “watch out” because a woman he worked with in the department might be “looking for a date” and might try to put her hand on his leg while inside a department cruiser.

The investigator also heard from “a number of” staffers who said Arell “often” made comments about the “pee pees” and referred to men as “sexy,” often calling out, “Hey sexy.” He was also accused of touching male staffers’ rear ends.

Arell also asked for hugs, suggesting they were “for Uncle Richie.”

The investigator also heard employees criticizing Arell’s work performance and expressing frustration with his role as a lieutenant, claiming he often micromanaged employees, talked down to employees, and disregarded the chain of command regularly. Specifically, on the latter, statements were made that Arell bypassed the captain in the department and went straight to a major or Croft. The employees said he was “often abrupt” and “condescending,” too.

The report said the investigation was about sexual harassment complaints, not Arell’s management style. But it also noted the concerns were important for Croft to consider when looking at how the department functioned.

The investigator also noted another employee who later left the department told human resources they believed there was “gender bias within the sheriff’s department with regard to assignments and training.” The employee, believed to be a woman, also “expressed some concern regarding their experiences with Lt. Arell being a difficult supervisor,” but she chose not to speak to investigators, despite repeated requests, the report said.

Arell, in his defense, denied intending to offend anyone and said he was only joking with people he considered to be friends, the investigator wrote. But, the investigator added, the comments were “offensive and improper for the work setting” and “particularly inappropriate coming from a person in a leadership position,” the report stated.

“These types of comments,” the report stated, “combined with the perception that Lt. Arell often did not understand the workings of the department and circumvented the chain of command, have served to undermine his position of leadership within the department.”

Arell resigned instead of being terminated on June 24.

Despite his 14 years with the department, including 16 months working with Croft, the sheriff said he did not know about Arell’s inappropriate behavior, past comments, or any other issues until the complaint was filed and raised in May.

“I had no knowledge until the complaint came to me,” Croft said.

Croft also denied any knowledge of any issues with the chain of command complaints before the accusations were filed against Arell.

When asked about the gender bias reference concerning assignments and training, Croft also said he did not know about the concerns.

“Everything in that report was not known to me until I received that report,” he said.

Lewko said all county employees and supervisors must take harassment prevention training and courses. The training, she said, happened periodically until 2019 when the county updated the policy. The board of commissioners directed the training to be implemented annually for employees at that time.

Arell was unable to be reached for comment. He currently is still certified as a police officer and works for the Webster Police Department on an “as-needed basis,” according to Dana Hadley, the town administrator. Arell was hired in mid-July by the Board of Selectmen, she said.

David Parenteau of the New Hampshire Police Standards & Training did not return requests for information about Arell’s police certification status or the status of any investigation after his resignation instead of termination based on violations of the police code of conduct before post time.

During Croft’s tenure as sheriff, nearly two-thirds of the employees have left the department.

According to data received by Patch, between Nov. 1, 2020, and Sept. 1, 2022, 41 employees were “termed” — either resigning, terminated, or part-timers no longer offered work hours. The positions included court security officers, communications specialists, departments, and even upper command staff, including sergeants and lieutenants.

Croft said between retirements and competition from the private sector, it was difficult to keep staffing in the sheriff’s department. After attending a recent multi-day conference with other county officials, employment problems were universally known and recognized, he said.

“This is not a unique situation by any means to anyone in either the public or private sector,” Croft said. “The workforce right now is very difficult trying to get somebody or retain them. In speaking with other individuals across the state, everybody is in the same exact situation as I am.”

Croft said the New Hampshire State Police, the department of corrections, and other departments had similar staffing issues. He said the county jail was down more than 30 corrections officers.

“This was not a unique pattern that’s just set here at the sheriff’s office,” he said. “Everybody on that list left with many years of tenure. Many are kind of unique positions (too).”

Some of the employees, too, were part-time, coming out of long-term careers in law enforcement and other jobs, and the sheriff’s department was a temporary second career.

Several employees had many years with the department, but others were hired during his time in office only to leave later. Croft said some employees had to leave due to family illnesses or issues while handling firearms — which is mandatory for bailiffs and other positions.

“There are all legitimate reasons there,” he said. “The bottom line being is that it is the world we are in today … the recruitment or the retention is just not there; it’s horrific… in 38 years, I’ve never seen (this).”

One staffer, Croft said, left due to a $20,000 bonus he received at the new job, something he could not compete with. Staffers, he said, must do what is best for themselves.

Croft said none of the exits were due to ill feelings or anything with his leadership in the department or his role as sheriff.

About 30 employees have been hired by the department during the same time period, although some of the upper staffing positions remain vacant.

Croft said the department was performing interviews to fill the vacant positions and believed he was better staffed than most other county departments in New Hampshire.

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.