Concord City Councilor Jeff Foote was placed on paid administrative leave from his job as the Public Works Director in Bedford while he was under investigation for disorderly conduct.
A roadway flagger working for a tree crew reported that Foote, while driving a town-owned vehicle, disobeyed orders to stop and struck the sign he was holding. After the accident, the worker reported that Foote got out of the car, yelled at the man, and then drove away.
Bedford police records describe a confrontation on August 13 between Foote and employees of a tree work company doing work on Wallace Road, though each had different descriptions of what happened.
Employees described Foote as disobeying signage closing one lane of the road, driving unsafely through the area, hitting a flagger’s stop sign, and yelling angrily. Foote called the chief of police and then the deputy chief and eventually spoke to a lieutenant on duty and then returned to the scene. He told the investigating officer that he was on the phone with the lieutenant when he drove back to the area and that the tree company needed to get out of the roadway.
“He appeared angry,” Officer Whitney Mansfield wrote in her report. “I informed him that I needed to conduct an investigation, at which point he drove off and did not stay so I could get his side of the incident.”
In an interview with Mansfield the next day, Foote said he hadn’t hit anyone. He said he saw a single flagger with the ‘slow’ side facing out, drove at “parking lot speed,” and pulled over after a worker stepped out in the road in front of him.
He was frustrated that additional flaggers were not present around the tree work. He said a back-and-forth ensued. Foote told police that his response was, “What the hell is going on? What the hell are you doing? You need another flagger.”
Mansfield later noted that Foote’s town vehicle had a scuff on the front right tire, where the worker said his sign was struck.
A week after the initial incident, on Aug. 20, Bedford Police passed the investigation over to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office to avoid a conflict of interest.
Foote was placed on paid administrative leave the next day.
Ultimately, the tree work employee decided he would not pursue charges if Foote apologized, which he did on Aug. 22.
The Sheriff’s department then closed its investigation.
Foote remained on paid leave through last week, according to town payroll records. He did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Foote is currently running unopposed for re-election to his Ward 10 seat on the Concord City Council.