NEW HAVEN — Franklin County law enforcement officials say they have yet to find evidence of wrongdoing in the circumstances that led to the abrupt disbanding of the New Haven Police Department, and some of the allegations appear to be more like miscommunication.
At least one piece of evidence missing from the department has been located, a county sheriff spokesman told a crowd of residents Monday night, in the first official response to the police department’s closure. And other items missing from the evidence storage locker were actually city-owned property.
“They were never evidence,†Franklin County Sheriff Department Chief Deputy T.J. Wild told a packed American Legion here. “They were city-owned pieces of property that were stored in the evidence room because there was no other place to store them.â€
Still, investigators continue working to address the concerns raised by former New Haven police Chief John Hallquist, who resigned Feb. 2, less than a month after taking office. In his resignation letter, Hallquist said that information had come to light that left him with “no further desire to be associated with the New Haven Police Department.â€
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The resignation of Hallquist, a former ºüÀêÊÓƵ County officer, sparked an investigation into the department and its handling of evidence. Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton has said the investigation is routine and should not be viewed as an allegation of wrongdoing.
Some residents were skeptical at Monday’s meeting.
“I think for police Chief Hallquist to resign on extremely short notice, there must be something else that isn’t as easily resolved or as easily fixed,†said Charles Tritch, a resident and the administrator at the New Haven Care Center nursing home.
“This is the biggest thing that has happened here in my 29 years living in New Haven,†Tritch said. “I have residents at my facility who are worried about it. I have staff members who are worried about it, and obviously, I have my own family that’s worried about it.â€
“Now the community just wants answers as to why it was dissolved.â€
New Haven has a population of about 2,400 people and is about 60 miles west of ºüÀêÊÓƵ. The city, which is built on a series of bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, is known in the region for its annual hot air balloon festival and for the Riverside Short Film Festival, the only one of its kind in the state.
Mayor Jason Addison said while there is some crime that happens in the community, the vast majority of police calls are “for the notorious barking dog next door.â€
“I hate to laugh about it, but you know, that’s small-town life,†Addison told reporters at the meeting.
Addison, who is in his first term as mayor, said he knows residents have “legitimate questions†and concerns about the future of the New Haven Police Department.
But on Monday, Wild, the sheriff deputy, said that one item of evidence that Hallquist believed was missing from the department had been located.
It had been returned to the owner years ago, Wild said, but the paperwork had not been properly scanned into the department’s electronic evidence database.
Wild also said that Hallquist had raised concerns about two other items that he believed were missing from the evidence storage locker.
But the sheriff’s department investigation has determined that those were actually city-owned property, stored in the evidence locker for 10-plus years.
Wild did not specify what any of the items were.
Dozens of residents addressed city officials at Monday’s meeting.
Julie Bouge said the secrecy surrounding the department did not give her confidence in city officials.
Nora Forrester agreed, saying residents had been “kept in the dark.â€
“I think that the broader problem is people thinking there were no checks and balances at the police station and there’s no checks and balances on city hall,†Forrester told officials. “I don’t believe that we’re able to understand what is happening because you haven’t informed anyone of anything except saying that something is going to happen.â€
After the meeting, Wild, the sheriff deputy, told the Post-Dispatch that he expects the audit of the evidence locker to be completed within the next several weeks and that he will hold a public meeting to present the department’s findings.
Addison, the mayor, said he still holds out hope the city will one day reopen its police department. The city has a six-month contract with Franklin County to patrol New Haven, including a deputy stationed inside the city limits throughout the day.
“Unfortunately, sometimes to clean house you have to tear the house down,†Addison said. “And unfortunately, that’s what we had to do.â€
But Addison also said that staffing shortages were a significant factor in the decision to dissolve the police department.
The department then was down by four full-time officers, and had just three full-time and three part-time officers then.
The properties, including the town's only gas station, were once seen as key for the Hoffmanns' plan to make the area a national destination.Â
Several days of whirlwind news, including the sudden resignation of a new police chief and the the dissolution of the city police department, has left residents wondering what's happening in the small town of New Haven.Â
The boys were home Friday because their school canceled classes on account of the frigid temperatures, she said. Julian had just started kindergarten.Â