BALLWIN — The Ballwin police chief was fired Wednesday night during a closed session of the Board of Aldermen, about two months after he was put on paid administrative leave.
The board voted unanimously to oust Chief Douglas Schaeffler, according to heavily redacted records obtained by the Post-Dispatch.
Megan Freeman, a spokesperson for the city, would not comment on the firing, citing personnel matters.
Mark Sowers, an attorney for Schaeffler, said he could not comment on the chief’s ouster.
The move comes after aldermen in an Oct. 9 closed meeting voted unanimously to put Schaeffler on leave, according to meeting minutes obtained through an open records request.
The department posted on Facebook Thursday morning that Schaeffler was “no longer employed†with the department.
People are also reading…
Ballwin Mayor Tim Pogue declined to comment when reached. None of the eight members of the board of aldermen responded to a request for comment.
The chief was sworn in on Dec. 9, 2019. His predecessor, Kevin Scott, was chief for about 3½ years and is now the general manager of security for Bi-State Development, overseeing security on the MetroLink and its buses.
Capt. John Bergfeld will take over as acting chief “until further notice,†the city wrote in the Facebook post.
Ballwin is the fifth biggest city in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, according to its website, with a population of about 31,100. It is about 20 miles west of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
The police department employs 61 people, 48 of whom are sworn officers. Schaeffler made $130,443 in 2022, according to the .
Schaeffler’s firing comes just months after Ballwin’s neighbor to the east, Town and Country, also ousted its top cop.
Former Town and Country Chief James Cavins was put on paid administrative leave in mid-July, according to closed session votes obtained through a records request.
Then, on July 27, the Board of Aldermen voted in closed session to draft a negotiated settlement agreement with Cavins for his resignation effective Aug. 1.
That settlement was approved during the board’s Aug. 14 meeting.