Jasper begins procedure to fire police officer (Updated)
The Jasper Board of Public Works approved a recommendation to begin the procedure to terminate a police officer based on allegations of misconduct and the results of an internal investigation conducted by the city.
Jasper Police Chief Michael Bennett asked the board for approval to begin the administrative actions required to terminate Officer Dave Drew. In lieu of the termination, Bennett also recommended the board approve a suspension with pay until the proceedings were completed.
Drew has served on the Jasper Police Department since 2003. He ran for County Coroner in 2012 as a Republican but was defeated by Democrat Bob Veatch.
He is currently on medical leave from the department and the suspension with pay will take affect after he returns from medical leave.
Through a Public Records request made by the DCFreep, Drew’s personnel file contained four records of disciplinary actions taken against him while employed by the city.
Two disciplinary actions involved traffic accidents in police vehicles. He received oral reprimands for an accident in April of 2005 and another in May of 2011.
The other two incidents resulted in Drew being suspended from the police department without pay for 36 hours.
The most recent occurred in November of 2012 and stems from an incident in which French Lick police charged reported Drew and his brother Dan Drew for Drunk and Disorderly and Public Intoxication. The incident occurred at the Indiana Railway Museum in French Lick.
Prior to that, Drew and his brother Dan were involved in an incident in February of 2011, when a neighbor contacted the police department about the Drews screaming obscenities at him and beating on the door to his apartment. There were no criminal charges stemming from the incident but Dave Drew was suspended without pay for 36 hours.
Sergeant Chad Dick, Public Information Officer with the Indiana State Police, confirmed that a member of the Jasper Police Department is currently the subject of an investigation, but he would not release details of the investigation. Due to the department’s policy, Dick stated, he can not discuss who is involved nor the content of the case since it is an ongoing investigation and there are no compelling safety issues.
Dick further stated the case would be forwarded to the district attorney for disposition once the investigation was completed.
Mayor Terry Seitz released a statement after the meeting but would not comment on the action taken by the board nor the investigation into Drew’s activities.
According to the statement, the recommendation for termination is based on information obtained through an internal investigation as well as information presented to the Jasper Police Department by the Indiana State Police.
Drew’s conduct was discussed during several executive sessions leading up to today’s decision.
The city suspended Drew with pay effective immediately and authorized the city attorney to proceed with steps to ensure the city is in compliance with Indiana Statute, Jasper Municipal Code, and the City of Jasper Police Department Employee handbook in regards to the actions.
Chief Bennett also declined to comment on the situation.
We originally reported the Drews were charged by the French Lick Police Department. The police department filed a report on the incident but no criminal charges were filed. We apologize for the error.
Sounds like someone was drunk on power
he really is a good person and has a wonderful family
Right is Right and Wrong is Wrong..
It doesn’t say anything good like the 86 Felony arrests in one year Dave Drew got or that the two wrecks and had a couple years In-between both wrecks Nothing compared as the three cars that were totaled in three weeks by Aaron Persohn and nothing about the board of public works new about J Michel Bennett’s record and they appointed him in as police chief and where is the city gonna get the other half of J Michel Bennett’s salary since former Police Chief Doug Tarvin didn’t retire like Mayor Terry Seitz thought is the city gonna have to borrow from the in kind fund again or should someone be looking into the payroll records?
It looks and sounds like there are certain people with an agenda to destroy Officer Drews reputation. How come there was only negative stuff posted and not the good things Officer Drew has done for the city? I am sure that there are positive meaningful things that he has done. What about his character in how he treats people. I know people that he has encountered and they say if it wasn’t for him they would have taken a path to jail. Officer Drew treats people like they are people that make mistakes not criminals. He has always been respectful and always professional especially. If the city of Jasper terminates Officer Drew they will be getting rid of the best thing that happened to Jasper. Take a look at the conduct of the other officers while on duty then tell me Officer Drew is as bad as you say. Take a look at Bennetts record even before coming to Jasper. IS THIS HOW JASPER WANTS TO RUN THE TOWN? Politics like this Jasper does not need.
Sounds like the department is wanting to make cuts where they can and picking the guy on medical leave seems like a good option to them.
why are they picking on officer Drew? I hear all the way in Texas that there are a lot worse people on the force than officer Drew. Lets talk about the wife that was caught shop lifting . Oops that was cleaned up as she returned the items. There are a lot worse than officer Drew. Maybe officer Drew knows more about what is going on than he should. So they want to shut him up by shutting him out. Shame Shame Shame. I think you should keep officer Drew and maybe look into some of these other so called model officers. If I were officer Drew I wouldn’t even want to work with such a bunch of bad officers.