BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - Brookline Police Chief Ashley Gonzalez has been placed on paid leave, according to a town official, as an outside firm investigates allegations that he violated the town’s discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation policy.
In a statement, Town Administrator Mel Kleckner said Gonzalez was put on paid administrative Saturday afternoon, after the town was informed last week of “multiple allegations that Chief Gonzalez violated the Town’s Policy Against Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Retaliation.”
Kleckner said town staff quickly started a review of the allegations after receiving them, before retaining the Quincy-based firm, Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting, to conduct a review.
“The outside investigation is being conducted by the firm’s principal, former Secretary of Public Safety and Worcester County First Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bennett and former Massachusetts State Police Colonel Kerry Gilpin,” Kleckner said in his statement. “Chief Gonzalez will remain on paid leave pending the outcome of that review.”
No other details on the allegations were released, though Kleckner reiterated the town’s zero-tolerance policy against “discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation committed by or against its employees.”
“We are committed to supporting the investigation, which will determine the facts, and responding accordingly,” he said.
Kleckner originally selected Gonzalez as Brookline’s next chief of police earlier this year. Gonzalez previously served in Norwalk, Connecticut, where he started in 1988 according to an older press release. He later led the Austin Independent School District Police Department in 2018 before heading to Brookline.
In the Town of Brookline’s Annual Report, the Town Administrator section detailed how a unanimous vote in March by the town’s Select Board confirmed Gonzalez. He took the role two years after former Chief Andrew Lipson resigned.
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