Former Walpole Deputy Police Chief Christopher Mackenzie was charged Monday with indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14.

Former Walpole Deputy Police Chief Christopher Mackenzie was charged Monday with indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14.

Mackenzie, 46, is accused of groping a woman's genitals while she was driving him home in his department vehicle from the Raven's Nest bar last May.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 18 in Wrentham District Court. The State Police Detective Unit is handling the case because of potential conflicts of interest with the Norfolk County District Attorney's office, which works with the Walpole Police Department.

Mackenzie in August negotiated his departure from the police department to allow him time to find another job.

That decision does not sit well with one selectman.

Selectman David Salvatore, who voted against the separation agreement, argued during that Aug. 6 executive session that Mackenzie should have been fired outright for showing up intoxicated in his police car to the Raven's Nest on the night of the alleged assault. Minutes to that same selectmen's meeting say Salvatore argued "the Board will have to explain its actions" if the victim were to make a criminal complaint.

In a written statement, he lauded Police Chief John Carmichael and the rest of the department for acting with "poise." The board, according to Salvatore, acted "solely to protect Mr. Mackenzie's prospects of getting another job."

"They gave this guy 90 days to find a job," Salvatore said in a phone interview Tuesday. "What's most horrible about this is that women often delay (coming forward) because they're afraid. The board does exactly what women fear in these complaints. The board rallied around the assaulter."

According to the complaint, the alleged victim was at the Raven's Nest bar celebrating the birthday of her husband, who is also a Walpole police officer, when Mackenzie ran into them and some other friends. The group — that included four police officers — agreed the woman should drive Mackenzie home because he was "extremely intoxicated" and had arrived at the bar in his department vehicle.

During the drive home, Mackenzie then allegedly grabbed the victim's privates. The victim said she then pulled his hand off her and held him at bay while continuing to drive, according to the complaint. The woman said Mackenzie told her that his wife, Selectwoman Nancy Mackenzie, was out of town, when they were at the bar and during the drive to his house. The woman said when she let go of Mackenzie's hand, he grabbed her thigh and she resumed holding him off while driving.

According to the complaint, after the woman and Mackenzie arrived at his house, she immediately told a second driver who followed her to Mackenzie's house about the alleged assault. The person followed her to give her a ride after Mackenzie and his car were dropped off. The woman also told her husband what happened during the drive, according to the complaint.

"In the days and weeks that followed, the victim's husband felt bothered by Christopher Mackenzie's actions," according to the complaint. "He was unsure of what to do because Christopher Mackenzie was the deputy chief on his department."

Chief Carmichael received a complaint in July about the incident. In a statement given to Carmichael, "Mackenzie said that the booze got the better of him that evening" and that he could not remember the drive, according to the court document.

Mackenzie, in a later statement to State Police Trooper Kathleen M. Prince, denied the accusation but said "his memory was a little foggy," according to the complaint.

On Twitter Monday night, the Walpole Police Department acknowledged the "ongoing criminal matter" and declined further comment.

During a December episode of Walpole Public Media’s “An Outside View,” Salvatore said Mackenzie had been placed on a 90-day administrative leave that ended Nov. 1. In that same episode, Salvatore said MacKenzie had also resigned effective Nov. 1.

Mackenzie could not be reached for comment, however, in an Open Meeting Law complaint filed with the Board of Selectmen on Dec. 30, he accused a board member of "slander" and "spreading lies" on Facebook and on local access TV. He also claimed he should have been allowed to represent himself during the executive session.

Salvatore, in an interview on Tuesday, confirmed that Mackenzie was the employee the board discussed during the Aug. 6 executive session.

According to the minutes from that meeting, selectmen Chairman James O'Neil said the board was acting "to abide by the complainant's wishes."

Raw notes from the Aug. 6 executive session were mistakenly posted on the town website.

Mackenzie had been a top finalist for the Seekonk police chief job. According to Seekonk Board of Selectmen meeting minutes from Oct. 30, Town Administrator Shawn Cadime recommended moving on from Mackenzie as a candidate "based on new information."