Northfield Police Chief John Helfant, who has drawn complaints for his public comments about a transgender teen’s use of a school locker room, will retire in May, according to town officials.
Northfield town manager Jeff Schulz announced Helfant’s departure in a brief email on Wednesday. The town will begin searching for a new police chief soon, Schulz wrote.
“We appreciate the service of the chief and our entire police force for the work they do to protect our community,” he added.
Reached by email on Wednesday, Helfant declined to comment, calling Seven Days “fake news.”
Seven Days published a story on February 15 about community members’ mounting criticism of Helfant in the wake of his charged comments last fall about a 14-year-old transgender girl who used a female locker room at Randolph Union. In a letter to the school district published on the conservative website Vermont Daily Chronicle, Helfant argued that the teen was guilty of “voyeurism” — and school district officials were “accessories” to a crime.
Helfant, of East Roxbury, said he was exercising his First Amendment rights and was speaking as a parent, not a police chief. But his comments drew condemnation from school officials, local and state advocacy groups, and Northfield town residents, where he has been police chief for the past four years.
His record in law enforcement has also been scrutinized. In 2020, former Washington County state’s attorney Rory Thibault issued a memo to defense attorneys known as a Brady-Giglio letter, disclosing credibility issues with Helfant stemming from his actions during a pair of traffic stops. In an interview with Seven Days for the recently published story, Helfant maintained there were untrue assertions in the letter.
Helfant also floated the possibility that he might retire in May, when he becomes eligible for retirement benefits.
Following publication of the February 15 story, members of the Northfield Selectboard issued a joint statement on Tuesday distancing the town from Helfant’s comments while asserting that “absent other compelling circumstances, the First Amendment allows Town employees to speak as private citizens on matters of public concern.”
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