By Megan Alley
Sun Reporter
An independent review of the village of Bethel Police Department was recently completed, and a report on the findings is now available to the public.
In September 2020, the village of Bethel engaged the services of Hamilton Township Police Department Chief Scott Hughes to prepare an evaluation of the Bethel Police Department.
The 28-page report was posted to the village website on Jan. 18.
Village Administrator Travis Dotson did not say how much the review and report cost the village, and stated that the village had not received an invoice for the project, yet.
In the introduction to his report, Hughes writes: “On September 10, 2020 I was retained by Strauss Troy LPA to conduct a professional review of the Village of Bethel Police Department and Police Chief Steve Teague. This audit was requested by Mayor Jay Noble and Village of Bethel Council members. The purpose of this audit is to examine the current operations of the Village of Bethel Police Department and compare those to best practices in law enforcement.”
Hughes added that his opinions in the report are based on information provided to him and “my training and experience and generally accepted best practices,” along with interviews of Chief of Police Steve Teague, Sergeant Mark Planck, Corporal Rick Brees, Jr., Police Officer Tommy Collopy, Police Officer Zachary Houchin, Police Officer Josh Ginn, Police Clerk / Mayor’s Court Clerk Lisa Knepp, Bethel Prosecutor Keith Foreman, Bethel Mayor Jay Noble, Bethel Administrator Travis Dodson and Law Director Emily Supinger.
Hughes notes that the police department is comprised of five full-time police officers, one part time police officer and one full-time Police/Mayor’s Court Clerk; the department provides 24-hour police protection seven days a week to the village’s nearly 3,000 residents, and covers approximately 1.5 square miles.
Each police officer is assigned his own squad car for patrol duties.
On average, the Bethel Police Department handles about 400 calls for service each month, including traffic stops.
Full-time officers work 12-hour shifts, from 5 a.m to 5 p.m., and from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Hughes further notes “that most shifts are only covered by one patrol officer, [and] the Bethel Police Department relies heavily on mutual aid to provide assistance.”
The report goes on to provide analysis and recommendations about several issues related to personnel and organizational sustainability, and about some recent incidents involving the police department.
“By adding additional personnel, the Village of Bethel could provide better patrols to the Village. Additional personnel could include part-time employees or auxiliary officers,” Hughes wrote.
He also noted that, “A major concern regarding personnel is the amount of patrol work being handled by Chief Teague,” who has been employed with the Bethel Police Department in some capacity for nearly 17 years.
“In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Chief Teague still patrols the Village, working a rotation consistent with his patrol officers. This rotation causes Chief Teague to frequently work on the weekends and have off-days during the week. Being a “working chief” can be a challenge when trying to balance ‘patrol vs. administrative’ responsibilities. Due to Chief Teague oftentimes being off during the week, reports have been submitted or approved in an untimely manner, meetings with elected officials are delayed, and other ‘inefficiencies’ have occurred because he is not present during ‘normal business hours.’ These challenges are likely to increase as the requirements for police departments to become more professional and accountable gains traction.”
He added, “Failure to commit the time and resources to these administrative responsibilities could impact grants, funding, and increase liability for the Bethel Police Department and the Village of Bethel.”
Regarding the recent Black Lives Matter demonstration and counter-violence, Hughes writes that “Chief Teague should have summoned additional help from neighboring counties and/or cities once he realized his assets and resources had been diverted to the SWAT call-out. Due to the magnitude of this incident, many agencies of comparable size, or even larger, would have struggled to adequately prepare for an event that was so fluid and constantly changing.”
Hughes shared that during the event on June 14, 2020, Chief Teague saw Clermont County Sheriff’s Deputy Benkelmann involved in a physical altercation with an individual later identified as Cody Catron. Chief Teague fired one round from his department issued Taser at Catron – which was unsuccessful – and then ‘drive stunned’ Catron while on the ground. During the Taser deployment, Chief Teague inadvertently ‘shocked’ both the suspect and the Deputy.
“Based on the review of this case, multiple policy violations have occurred. In addition, it appears that the Taser reporting form, as required by policy #304.6., does not exist,” Hughes wrote, adding, “When reviewing the incident report, Chief Teague fails to properly articulate why the use of the Taser was necessary in making this arrest, as required by policy (#300.5). Additionally, supervisors are required to take photographs, interview witnesses, and obtain statements, as necessary. None of this occurred.”
“It is highly recommended that the Chief of Police be placed in an administrative role, and limit the amount of patrol time he is required to conduct,” Hughes concluded.
On January 9, the village posted a message on its official Facebook page stating: “Chief Steve Teague is on leave, and [Sergeant] Mark Planck is currently in command of the Bethel Police Department.”
Since then, village officials have not shared any more information about Teague’s leave, and in a previous phone interview, Dotson would neither confirm or deny that Teague’s leave had anything to do with Hughes’ report.
As of Jan. 19, Dotson said there is no change in Teague’s status, and that he was not aware of an expected time frame for any personnel decisions to be made.
Additional recommendations in the report include:
“Currently, the IT server is accessible by all police officers and some village employees. . . . The IT server should be secured in a private room (or closet) where access is strictly prohibited,” Hughes wrote.
“Re-instate the Police / Mayor’s Court Clerk position back to pre-COVID19 conditions, hire a full-time Police Clerk and a full-time Mayor’s Court Clerk, or reclassify the current Mayor’s Court clerk position to part-time and hire an additional full-time Police Officer.”
“Remodeling the police department, or acquiring a new facility, would address the issues which hamper the department as it relates to lack of space,” Hughes wrote.
“It is highly recommended that an audit of the evidence room be conducted immediately by an independent agency / consultant,” Hughes explained.
“It is . . . recommended that all supervisors – including Chief Teague – attend leadership and/or supervisor training annually.”
Hughes concluded: “The demands for professional policing are increasing and significant changes are likely on the horizon. It would benefit Village Officials to begin exploring options for the long-term sustainability of the Bethel Police Department. […]The Village of Bethel Police Department is lacking in manpower, administrative staff (alignment), outdated facilities, and training. Recent events have brought the deficiencies to the forefront. Without significantly more resources and a leadership focus, the department – and community – may continue to suffer.”
Following the delivery of Hughes’ report, the village Safety committee will review it at the next meeting and formulate a plan to move forward, according to Dotson.