JAY — The Select Board voted 3-2 on Monday to adopt a policy allowing Jay police officers, at the chief’s discretion, to take a cruiser home if they live in Jay and are working consecutive shifts.

Questions came up earlier this month about certain scenarios such as a cruiser parked at an officer’s house and a tree falls on it or if it was in a crash at a grocery store. The town manager asked the insurance company for more information.

Crystal Gilks, an underwriter for Maine Municipal Association Risk Management Services, responded to Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere’s questions.

“The vehicle’s coverage follows the vehicle,” she wrote in an email. “So regardless of where it is, it could be covered. So, if an employee is driving home from their shift and gets into an accident, it will likely be covered as they are still performing their duty as an employee.”

She couldn’t say it would or would not be covered at any given time because she is not a claim adjuster and the circumstances around the loss are always “very important,” she wrote.

“If the employee gets into a fender bender in the Hannaford parking lot, it will likely still be covered however, we will likely also subrogate, which puts the employees in a position that we definitely do not want them in,” Gilks wrote. “If a tree falls on a vehicle while at home, we will investigate it just like any other claims. If we found the tree was rotted and the employee knew about it, we may not cover it, just the same as if it happened at the municipal building.”

The “what ifs” are really hard to answer because there is so much that goes into a claim, Gilks wrote.

Board Chairman Terry Bergeron, Vice Chairman Tim DeMillo and Selectperson Lee Ann Dalessandro voted in favor of adopting the policy, while Selectpeople Tom Goding and Gary McGrane opposed it. McGrane said he considers it a slippery slope.