Posted on 03/11/2010 11:44:16 PM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
Former Lewiston police chief Dave Kleinschmidt, who was fired Wednesday night by the City Council, had a criminal record, and city officials say he lied about his previous employment.
Council members recently learned that Kleinschmidt was found guilty in 2000 of filing a false police report. And now the city's mayor says the council may consider overhauling the troubled department - even to the point of disbanding the police force. "We want to have our own police force," Mayor Dave Sommer said. "But how much at the cost to our residents?"
Court records and police reports obtained by the Winona Daily News show that Kleinschmidt lied to sheriff's investigators about a car crash in 2000, when he was a private citizen. Kleinschmidt told police an unknown person hit his car and fled. But investigators later learned one of Kleinschmidt's friends had hit the car.
Kleinschmidt could not be reached for comment on this story.
How council members overlooked the conviction when they hired Kleinschmidt in February 2008 and named him chief later that year is unclear. Current and former city officials don't agree on whether he passed a background check - standard policy for all city employees - and if he did, whether council members were aware of the conviction before they hired him. Council members also accused Kleinschmidt of lying about his previous employment record with Premier Security, a firm owned by another fired Lewiston officer, Dan Walker. "The council has found that Mr. Kleinschmidt was not truthful, honest and candid with the council," the board wrote in a resolution to fire the chief.
Walker says Kleinschmidt never worked for the company.
The Council hasn't decided how it will proceed. After Wednesday night's meeting, Sommer told some council members they may have to consider contracting out police services in light of $80,000 in cuts to the city in state aid. "Where can we start trying to save costs?" he said.
Meanwhile, part-time officer Jeremy Newton has been hired as interim police chief and takes over a department plagued by instability. Newton is the city's fourth chief in two years. The department was investigated last year after accusations surfaced about drugs and money missing from the department's evidence locker. Because of slip-shod records, investigators were never able to determine if anything was missing.
Earlier this year, the city reached a settlement with Walker and agreed to pay him $8,000 after he appealed his termination. Walker, a one-time police chief in Lewiston, replaced Mark Dungy, another chief fired by the Council. Sommer said the Council could discuss the police department at its next meeting, March 24.
But, I’ve been working around Law enforcement all my life.
Sounds about right.
My hometime here just terminated 3 police officers/staff because they failed to follow protocol.
Isnt Lewiston a muslum town now.
You might be thinking of Lewiston, Maine - big Somali community there.
It seems southeastern Minn is having its problems with weird police chiefs. A few years ago a Houston, Minn police officer (can’t remember if he was the chief or not) burned down a building to “impress” a woman. He was going to impress her by “saving” the people living in the building. And they say we’re crazy in Wisconsin.
The report is from the Winona (Minn) Daily News. Lewiston is about fifty mile from where I live.
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