The former Walpole deputy police chief, who was being considered for a police chief position in Seekonk, has been accused of sexual assault.

A criminal complaint alleges that Christopher MacKenzie, 46, of Walpole, indecently assaulted a female police officer who works in a different town. The woman’s husband worked alongside MacKenzie in the Walpole department, according to the complaint.

MacKenzie is scheduled to answer to the charge in Wrentham District Court at an arraignment on March 19.

MacKenzie has since resigned from his deputy chief’s position in Walpole, according to the complaint. The alleged assault, which reportedly happened the night of May 4, 2019, was brought to the attention of Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael Jr. in July, and MacKenzie was placed on leave; he then vacated his position via a “negotiated resignation.”


The night the incident allegedly occurred, the woman, her husband, and some other friends were at the Raven’s Nest in Walpole, the complaint says. It was her husband’s birthday, and she knew MacKenzie since he worked with and “was a friend” of her spouse.

The woman and others noticed that MacKenzie — who had reportedly driven a police department vehicle to the gathering — appeared drunk, and they decided someone should drive him home, according to the complaint.

The woman happened to be the designated driver that night, and she and the others decided that she would drive MacKenzie in his police vehicle to his home while another designated driver followed behind her. The two designated drivers would then head back to the bar, according to the complaint.

The drive to MacKenzie’s home is when the alleged sexual assault occurred, according to the document. MacKenzie allegedly reached across the vehicle’s console, and indecently assaulted the woman.

“She stated that she had to hold his hand away from her in order to prevent him from doing it again,” the complaint says. “She had to drive the car with one hand.”

When she felt it was safer, she let MacKenzie’s hand go, according to the complaint. He then allegedly grabbed her thigh, and she held his hand away from her. He allegedly told her that his wife was “away for the weekend.”


The woman then told the other designated driver, who is a friend, and her husband, the complaint says.

“In the days and weeks that followed, the victim’s husband felt bothered by Christopher MacKenzie’s actions,” the document says. “He was unsure of what to do because Christopher MacKenzie was the deputy chief of his department.”

The woman eventually went public with the allegations, after which MacKenzie reportedly made a statement to Walpole Chief Carmichael, and said, “he did not remember the ride home, and said that the booze got the better of him,” the complaint states.

State Police detectives took over the case for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, according to the complaint. A special prosecutor, Kevin Mullen, has also been selected to handle the case, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office said. In a statement to state police detectives, MacKenzie reportedly said that he remembered the drive home.

“He stated that his memory was a little foggy, but denied that he sexually assaulted the victim,” the complaint stated.

Seekonk town officials were considering choosing MacKenzie as the town’s new police chief. Back in October, the town’s board of selectmen was asked to consider making a conditional offer to MacKenzie; he had emerged as the top candidate after a search committee sifted through 27 applications, and a couple of rounds of interviews, according to meeting minutes from Oct. 16.

“Aside from being a police officer and a family man, I think, from a personal standpoint, he has volunteered at various levels,” Seekonk Town Manager Shawn Cadime said at the time, as recorded by TV9 Seekonk, the town’s community access television. “For nine years, he’s been a youth football coach in Walpole, he also coaches youth lacrosse and baseball. His commitment to the community, I think, is very strong.”


That vote to make MacKenzie a conditional employment offer failed; several selectmen felt that the town should choose an internal candidate.

At an Oct. 30 meeting, Cadime ultimately asked for an “indefinite postponement” to making the offer, noting that “new information has come to light,” and told selectmen they should “move away from the appointment,” according to the meeting minutes.

Carmichael acknowledged the “ongoing criminal matter” and said it had to do with an “off-duty incident involving an individual who is a former employee.”

He didn’t comment further.