Post by WaTcHeR on Feb 17, 2007 11:49:35 GMT -5
HARLAN - Harlan City Administrator Terry Cox said former Harlan police officers Aaron Holtz and Brad Wendt chose terminastion over resignation.
The two were dismissed from the force Feb. 5.
"They are no longer working, that's all I can say. It's a personnel matter," Cox said.
He said the city and police department made the decision jointly. Cox said the city gave Wendt, 30, and Holtz, 29, the option of resigning, but neither agreed to do so.
Harlan Police Chief Frank Clark would not comment on the firings but said he is in the process of finding replacements.
Holtz had been selected to be part of the Region IV Fusion Center, an area-wide effort to coordinate information and resources in the War on Terror. Operations Supervisor Dennis Rudolph said Holtz's termination means he also loses his position with the Fusion Center.
"I did not terminate him from it, but you have to be an officer to be a member," Rudolph said.
He said Holtz did an exemplary job with his organization.
"I would say he was one of the best we had," Rudolph said.
Wendt and Holtz were among six men charged by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources with hunting violations last November. Both were charged in Cass County with two counts of trespassing and pursuing a deer with a motor vehicle. Wendt was also charged with shooting from the road and failure to display plates.
Both have pleaded not guilty. Their Cass County trials are scheduled to begin March 29.
Cox would not comment on whether those charges played any part in the decision to fire Wendt and Holtz. Coon Rapids Police Officer Kent Gries was also charged in the hunting incident. He continues on the force, according to the Coon Rapids police chief. Cox said the Harlan City Attorney informed him Holtz and Wendt do not have any appeal rights.
Holtz had been with the Harlan department since April 2000; Wendt since November 2003.
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17844707&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555107&rfi=6
The two were dismissed from the force Feb. 5.
"They are no longer working, that's all I can say. It's a personnel matter," Cox said.
He said the city and police department made the decision jointly. Cox said the city gave Wendt, 30, and Holtz, 29, the option of resigning, but neither agreed to do so.
Harlan Police Chief Frank Clark would not comment on the firings but said he is in the process of finding replacements.
Holtz had been selected to be part of the Region IV Fusion Center, an area-wide effort to coordinate information and resources in the War on Terror. Operations Supervisor Dennis Rudolph said Holtz's termination means he also loses his position with the Fusion Center.
"I did not terminate him from it, but you have to be an officer to be a member," Rudolph said.
He said Holtz did an exemplary job with his organization.
"I would say he was one of the best we had," Rudolph said.
Wendt and Holtz were among six men charged by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources with hunting violations last November. Both were charged in Cass County with two counts of trespassing and pursuing a deer with a motor vehicle. Wendt was also charged with shooting from the road and failure to display plates.
Both have pleaded not guilty. Their Cass County trials are scheduled to begin March 29.
Cox would not comment on whether those charges played any part in the decision to fire Wendt and Holtz. Coon Rapids Police Officer Kent Gries was also charged in the hunting incident. He continues on the force, according to the Coon Rapids police chief. Cox said the Harlan City Attorney informed him Holtz and Wendt do not have any appeal rights.
Holtz had been with the Harlan department since April 2000; Wendt since November 2003.
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17844707&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555107&rfi=6