La PORTE — Richard Buell will remain as La Porte’s police chief and an ordinance inconsistent with state law will remain in the city’s books.
"Together, legally, Dick Buell is our chief. He is our chief moving forward. That’s my decision. I'm held accountable – not the council. Not anybody else,” said La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody at Tuesday’s La Porte City Council meeting.
The city has faced backlash over the appointment of Buell, who was named chief on Feb. 5, replacing former chief Paul Brettin, who announced his retirement in December.
Buell had served six years on the La Porte City Police Department before moving to the La Porte County Sheriff's Office where he served 20 years. He most recently spent six years as executive director of La Porte County Community Corrections.
At the start of the meeting, the council unanimously approved withdrawing an agenda item that would have amended Ordinance No. 1672 concerning appointment and removal authority.
"Contrary to misinformation, this is not a new ordinance. This is nothing more than an amendment to an invalid ordinance that has been 28 years outdated," Dermody told a packed city hall.
"This amendment in question would match language which has been state law since 1996," he added.
City Attorney Nick Otis stated that the mayor asked him earlier this year whose authority it was to appoint a police chief and whether the five-year continuous service requirement was applicable.
"Prior to 1996 the state statute read that the five-year continual service requirements may be waived by a majority vote of the city legislative body upon the request of the city executive," Otis said.
"Our ordinance that's on the books followed that statute as it existed prior to 1995," he added.
Otis explained that in 1996 the Indiana state legislature amended the statute and specifically stated that the five-year continuous service requirement may be waived by the city executive. A majority vote of the city legislative body was no longer required to waive the continuous service requirement.
"In 2005 the Indiana Attorney General was asked about this very issue. The Indiana Attorney General ruled that any ordinance that is inconsistent with this state statute is invalid," Otis said.
The statute was changed to allow the waiver to be made by the city executive only.
"It's his authority to do that. It's his valid legal authority. The decision to appoint from inside or outside the department is totally within his discretion," Otis said.
Council Pro Tem Tim Franke asked that the ordinance amending Ordinance No. 1672 be withdrawn from the agenda and for the foreseeable future.
"In the state of Indiana, the principle of supremacy of state law is firmly established ... this is the reason I requested to amend the ordinance. Whenever I come across an ordinance that conflicts with state law or is invalid for any reason, I want to clean it up," Franke said.
"I also understand the concerns raised by members of our community and our first responders. This council remains committed to serving the best interests of our community and our first responders," he added.
On Monday, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) La Porte Lodge No. 54 issued a letter stating that naming Buell as chief was contrary to municipal code Section 62-32 of Ordinance No. 1672. The code in question said the office of chief of police must be appointed from the personnel of the police department serving for at least five years with the department immediately prior to their appointment.
"Although we commend Mr. Buell for his service in law enforcement in our community, we believe Mayor Dermody has violated the code that he is sworn under and that we have sworn to uphold," the letter stated.
The letter also stated that the officers of the department do not recognize Buell as their new chief due to the integrity they must preserve in observance of local municipal code.
"Further, we ask Mayor Dermody to recognize his disregard for the codes that he had full knowledge of and chose to ignore and we ask that he immediately appoint a proper chief of police from the internal candidates who applied," the letter stated.
"In the meantime, we recognize Assistant Chief Matthew Drangmeister as the legitimate officer who has earned his appointment and we shall operate under his leadership until the time a new chief is appointed," the letter added.
La Porte Police Captain Robert Metcalf, speaking at the council meeting on behalf of the FOP, called the situation "fluid."
"We don't know legally where we’re going to be at 24, 48, a week, two weeks from now," Metcalf said.
"We're here because you brought somebody from the outside in, which was contradicted in an ordinance – an ordinance we believe was passed to combat any kind of nepotism, to combat any kind of corruption with the chief of police," he added.
The rhetoric, added Metcalf, tells police they do not have the support of the mayor or possibly the city council.
"What happens is when you tell the people who have been faithful and have stayed here for 15, 16 (years) ... you're telling them you're not fit for the job. Morally and ethically, we believe that's wrong," he said, adding that three officers with more than 19 years of service applied for the position.
"We're just up here because we think what was morally and ethically the right thing to do was not done," he added.
Metcalf also cited the department's high turnover rate.
"In the last four or five years we've lost at least five or six to South Bend, multiple to Michigan City, Chesterton, neighboring departments. We're just a revolving door," he said.
© Copyright 2024 LPHeraldDispatch.com