Groton — A grand jury in York County, Maine, indicted former Town Police Chief Michael Crowley on May 6 on two felony burglary charges and misdemeanor charges of stalking, criminal trespass and harassment.

Crowley served as Groton town police chief from 2011 until retiring on Feb. 3, 2014. Shortly before, on Jan. 24, Town Manager Mark Oefinger had placed Crowley on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons.

Crowley, 56, of 43 Willow St., Mystic, faces two felony counts of burglary, three counts of misdemeanor stalking and one count each of criminal trespass and telephone harassment, according to the district attorney's office in Maine. The charges stem from an incident on Feb. 20.

"I've got nothing to say," Crowley said when reached by phone Monday.

A copy of the indictment was not immediately available.

According to court records in Maine, Crowley initially was arrested by Maine State Police on Feb. 20 and transported to the York County Jail. He was released on Feb. 24 on $2,500 cash bail, according to jail records.

Oefinger said Monday that the charges referenced occured earlier this year and are not the reasons he placed Crowley on administrative leave when he was chief. Oefinger said it would be inappropriate to comment on the reasons he placed Crowley on leave.

A Worcester, Mass., native, Crowley started his career as a police officer in Hartford and joined the town police department in 1984, rising through the ranks before being promoted to deputy chief in 2005.

During the course of his career, he served on the statewide narcotics task force, was a member of the dive team and the bike patrol and a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

On Dec. 10, 2013, Crowley was granted a family medical leave and was out of work for about a month. A day before Oefinger placed Crowley on administrative leave on Jan. 24, emergency medical personnel were called to his home for a medical call. He had not returned to work before the announcement of his retirement.

While Oefinger was on vacation Monday, two town councilors did discuss Crowley’s time in Groton and legal trouble in Maine.

Rich Moravsik, chairman of the council’s Public Safety Committee, said he was sworn into office in December 2013, just prior to Crowley being put on leave.

“So we never really had an opportunity to weigh in on the circumstances; it was already in the works,” Moravsik said. “I was disappointed in the way it was handled because they could have done something earlier.”

Moravsik said the chief “had a medical problem and it was in his interest to be placed on leave. And in January, they looked his employment record and decided he could be retired at that time.”

Oefinger has kept the current council informed, Moravsik said, “but I don’t know how long this current problem was brewing.”

Moravsik said he knew Crowley from the Knights of Columbus and was looking forward to working with him. The knights threw a party in his honor when he was named chief, Moravsik said.

“It’s too bad because Mike’s a good person. I don’t know what happened. He was looking for help and all that,” Moravsik said.

He added, “It’s sad for Mike and his family and I’m sure they’re not happy that he’s up in Maine and being indicted. And it’s sad because they’ll throw the book at him. Because if they know he was a former police chief, they’ll say he should have known better. Unless there was a woman involved. And even if there was, they’ll say ‘You should have known better.’”

Councilor Bruce Flax said of Crowley, “I think that the council was concerned with the chief at the time and alerted the town manager to our concerns and left it with him. They left it with him to take care of.”

Flax said he learned Sunday of the indictment and contacted Oefinger, who said he would look into it. Flax said the two haven’t discussed it yet or what Oefinger knew or didn’t know.

 d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim