HAZELWOOD — The city has quietly replaced its police chief and will allow him to retire voluntarily on Jan. 1, months after he was pulled over, called “hammered drunk,†and given a ride home by another police chief rather than arrested.
The city appointed 33-year veteran Maj. James Hudanick as acting chief. The council referred to him as acting chief as early as an Aug. 17 council meeting, but the city has not announced the move, and didn’t acknowledge it until Friday.
Chief Gregg Hall will serve as police chief emeritus until his retirement, according to his retirement agreement.
Hall was pulled over while off-duty just before 3:30 a.m. May 28 in O’Fallon, Missouri, and failed multiple sobriety tests. The responding officer said Hall was drunk and called a supervisor. Hall was eventually driven home by then-O’Fallon police Chief John Neske.
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The entire stop was captured on body camera.
City Manager Matt Zimmerman on Friday provided a copy of Hall’s settlement but refused to discuss details.
“We don’t discuss personnel matters as a matter of policy,†Zimmerman said. “And secondly, as a general rule, we don’t just discuss anything and everything that we do. This was an internal personnel matter that was being handled by the organization.â€
Zimmerman said the changes don’t require a public notice and that he would have provided information to members of the public who asked.
“Of course, the public, if anyone has an interest, certainly would want to know,†he said. “They certainly could have called and asked us, but that doesn’t mean we have to necessarily issue a press release.â€
The city charter allows the city manager to suspend a police chief and appoint an interim one, Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman also declined to say whether the city council was involved in drafting Hall’s agreement. City council members did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
According to the agreement, Hall will receive retirement benefits and be paid for any unused time off. Among other benefits, Hall will keep his service weapon “in lieu of a retirement party,†be paid an additional month of wages upon retiring and keep his city-provided tablet.
Hall could not be reached for comment. Travis Noble, a notable ºüÀêÊÓƵ DUI attorney who represented Hall when the Post-Dispatch story was published, did not immediately return a call on Friday.
Zimmerman provided a statement from the city Friday that read: “Gregg Hall served the people of Hazelwood for decades and guided our police department through a challenging and turbulent period for all law enforcement agencies. We know the residents of Hazelwood will always be grateful to him for his many years of service.â€
Hudanick was first hired by the department in 1989, according to the city, and was promoted to major in January 2021.
After footage of Hall’s traffic stop was published July 14, police and elected officials in both Hazelwood and O’Fallon remained largely silent.
“Our official comment is it is a personnel matter and it will remain confidential,†David Leezer, Hazelwood’s assistant city manager, said at the time.
Hall has been with the department for 43 years and took over as chief in 2013. He was chair of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Area Police Chiefs Association in 2019, and he said during the May traffic stop that he was set to retire in nine months, about two months after his new retirement agreement will take effect.
Zimmerman on Friday said Hall entered “a program†after July but did not elaborate.
Asked on Friday whether Hall’s conduct violated city personnel rules, Zimmerman declined to comment.
“Our statements have not changed since that day,†Zimmerman said. “While we are disappointed in the video, we do not discuss personnel matters.â€