The Riesel Police Department is set to hire another officer, which will bring the total number of officers in the department up to three.
The department has been down to two officers, including the chief, since early July after one officer was fired and another resigned, citing issues with new Police Chief Matt Cosper.
During a meeting Tuesday, the Riesel City Council approved hiring the new officer pending a satisfactory background check. Several other items relating to the police department were also on the agenda, including discussion on whether to grant Cosper the authority to hire and fire officers. The city council currently has final hiring and firing authority for the police department, a common arrangement for smaller cities and police forces.
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Several residents spoke against the measure, and the council also appeared mostly opposed, with several council members citing concerns with giving too much authority to one person in such a small community. Council Member Kooper Sjolander, however, said the change could help speed up the city’s efforts to return the department to its full complement of four officers.
In a special called meeting July 5, the city council voted 6-1 to fire Officer Ryan Dieterich based on Cosper’s recommendation and accepted the resignation of Officer Patrick Bellringer, which cut the police force in half. At the July 5 meeting, Cosper said Dieterich had previously been demoted and had his pay docked after several issues in which Dieterich went against department policies, including turning his back on a suspect during a traffic stop and not properly notifying dispatch when he conducted traffic stops or vehicle searches.
Cosper also read Bellringer’s resignation letter, in which Bellringer said he was resigning due to what he described as unprofessional behavior and a lack of communication from Cosper.
Cosper started as Riesel’s chief in January after previously serving as police chief in Mart. Riesel’s other current officer, Walter Lloyd, also previously worked for the Mart Police Department before Riesel hired him in March.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Riesel resident Becky Kinder said she opposes to the proposed change to the hiring policy.
“I do not feel that one person, especially the chief, needs to have full rein on the hiring and the firing of the police officers,” Kinder said. “It needs to remain where it always has been, and it needs to be up to the city council to do that.”
Kinder also spoke against a possible promotion for Lloyd, citing several instances of alleged misconduct that violated city policy.
During the council’s discussion, Council Member Jeanne Lehrmann said she was initially supportive of the policy change but has since become hesitant due to Riesel’s small size. Council member Jennifer Hogg agreed.
Hogg questioned the logic of the policy change, and said if the chief alone were given the authority to hire and fire, then why couldn’t any member of the council have that authority instead?
In rebuttal, Council Member Sjolander said it is part of a manager or supervisor’s duties to conduct hiring and firing. He also said the fact the council holds only one regular meeting per month hinders the city’s efforts to fill open spots on the police force. He said hesitating to hire an officer in order to wait for the council to meet again and interview the candidate could cause the city to lose out on an applicant.
Cosper said if the policy is adopted, he would not have sole authority over hiring and firing, and said he wants to create a board consisting of the mayor, a council member, a resident and a person from the school district to interview and select candidates or fire someone.
In response, Hogg said Riesel already has a board to hire and fire officers: the city council. She also said the city can call special meetings if it needs to meet more often.
“I feel like we’re all six capable people making the decision,” Hogg said. “We all have the best interest of the city of Riesel at heart.”
The council also voted Tuesday to purchase a new police vehicle, and discussed the possible promotion of Lloyd to sergeant. After a closed executive session, they elected to postpone the promotion discussion to a later date.
