The former Tisbury fire chief who had his lawsuit against the town dismissed from court earlier this month is now speaking out about the case.
Gregory Leland, who led the department for four years until he was put on leave in 2024 and later fired, wrote to the Gazette last week to say he believed his case against the town for discrimination was strong, but ran out of steam for financial reasons.
“Unfortunately I came to realize trying to get a measure of justice on the basis of principle was proving to be far too costly for me, and, as I have learned, the average [person],” Mr. Leland wrote.
The former chief sued Tisbury in 2025, claiming that his termination did not follow the correct process. But his lawsuit fell apart this year when communications with his legal team broke down; Dukes County Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp dismissed the suit on Oct. 5 after Mr. Leland didn’t attend his second hearing in a row.
The select board voted to fire Mr. Leland after a town investigation found that the chief was in a romantic relationship with a subordinate, leading to allegations of favoritism and an uncomfortable work environment.
The town report claimed that both parties denied a relationship, but coworkers and staff in other town departments said it was widely known that the two were dating.
Mr. Leland maintained that the town’s statements were untrue and he was prepared to challenge his termination.
“Unfortunately, believing in the merits of a case does not make litigation financially sustainable,” he wrote to the Gazette. “My financial circumstances prevented me from continuing before the evidence could be heard.”
Tisbury town administrator Joe LaCivita and select board member Roy Cutrer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In his letter, Mr. Leland went on to write that there were no union grievances filed against him, and no investigations were conducted to address the allegations of a toxic work environment.
“Unfortunately there were a few bad eggs that saw an opportunity to fabricate a narrative that eventually led to my termination,” Mr. Leland wrote.
The former chief also wrote that he had disclosed his relationship with the subordinate to the town, and was never shown a policy stating that the relationship was prohibited. He also alleged that there are several other municipal employees in romantic relationships.
Mr. Leland wrote that he was proud of his service to the town’s fire department, but was disappointed that his employment ended based on claims he believed were false.
“The public deserves more than a headline stating that a lawsuit was dismissed,” he wrote. “It deserves to know whether the standards used to judge one employee are the same standards being applied to those in positions of authority today.”