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Westbrook Police Officer Resigns

A new police officer hired in August has resigned from her position. The town will now look to fill the post again.

Last August, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) unanimously voted to hire a third full-time police officer. However, at a BOS meeting on Jan. 10, the board accepted the resignation of Officer Sabine Nyenhuis effective Jan. 20 (after press time).

In a resignation letter, Nyenhuis said that “it was a pleasure to serve the citizens of Westbrook.”

First Selectman John Hall said that Nyenhuis was resigning for personal reasons.

“It has nothing to do with the town or anything or to do with the job,” Hall said.

The inclusion of a third full-time officer was something that Hall had wanted to establish for years.

“We have an excellent constable force, but they’re part-timers, and they take certain shifts that they can, but a third full-time officer is going to be a big help,” Hall said at the time of Nyenhuis’ hiring.

Historically, Westbrook has had two resident state troopers as well as constables. However, the cost of having the troopers had risen dramatically. Instead, the town moved recently moved to employ two full-time police officers in addition to the constables and one trooper.

While successfully campaigning for first selectmen in 2021, one of Hall’s priorities, if elected, was to hire a third full-time officer. The position was included in the 2022-’23 budget that voters approved in the spring of 2022.

In 2021, Hall explained he wanted the extra officer to add to evening patrols, hoping to deter the rising number of car break-ins and late-night break-ins.

With Nyenhuis resigning, Hall said the town would look to fill the position. “We’re going to interview some people. We want to fill the position as soon as we can,” Hall said.