“We were looking at $100,000 in
attorney fees and a high probability that he would have gotten his job back
with back pay”
Courtney Astolfi
An embattled Vermilion police
officer kept his job, even after commanders suspended him for allegedly
entering an unauthorized area and then being dishonest about it during an
ensuing investigation.
Vermilion officials initially pursued firing
Patrolman Dale Reising but dropped their grievance a week ago, most likely
because his bosses didn’t want to fight an uphill battle.
Officials didn’t release their
conclusion to the media until Tuesday, despite the Register asking for an
update earlier this month.
“We were looking at $100,000 in
attorney fees and a high probability that he would have gotten his job back
with back pay,” Vermilion police Chief Chris Hartung said.
In exchange, however, Reising
must:
•Sign a last-chance agreement,
a document permitting him one more shot to shape up or get shipped out.
•Agree police commanders or
city officials can fire him for any other similar misconduct he commits.
•Accept an unpaid suspension
lasting 160 hours, losing out on about $3,700.
•Attend at his cost several
training courses revolving around ethics.
•Acknowledge his conduct “was
inconsistent with the standards of a sworn officer” at no less than one
official Vermilion police meeting.
Past incidents involving law
enforcers nationwide getting terminated but later coming back to work after
lengthy, costly court battles in similar situations to Reising’s case made
Vermilion officials reluctant to fire him.
“We spent a lot of time
researching this case, and I believe that this was an internal issue and the
best recourse for this case,” Vermilion Mayor Eileen Bulan said.
Reising, suspended since early
April, should return sometime in June. During this ongoing period, Reising
stands to obtain about $4,200 while on paid leave, according to city financial
data.
Reising has worked as a
full-time officer in Vermilion for about four years.
Alleged misconduct
An internal investigation, obtained
by the Register through a public records request, sheds light into two alleged
acts of misconduct Reising committed:
•Entering a police
administrator’s locked office.
•Showing signs of dishonesty
when interviewed about his actions.
On Feb. 10, Vermilion police
Capt. Mike Reinheimer noticed ceiling tile debris on a cabinet in his office.
The investigation indicates a supervisor assigned Reising to a cruiser with the
keys locked in Reinheimer’s office over the Feb. 8-9 weekend.
Reising originally told Reinheimer
he never entered Reinheimer’s office during initial questioning.
But the patroller did claim he
went to Ace Hardware, where employees later helped Reinheimer pinpoint the sale
of a key to the morning of Feb. 9 — right in the middle of Reising’s shift and
just a day before Reinheimer realized someone entered his office, according to
the report.
A hardware store employee said
Reising had entered the store in full uniform on that day, according to the
report.
Reinheimer then interviewed
Reising a second time, pointing out the apparent inconsistencies between his
previous statements and what Reinheimer learned during the investigation.
Reising again stuck to his
story: He made a copy of the key while he was off duty and never broke into the
office.
When Reinheimer confronted
Reising again about the inaccuracies, Reising asked for his union
representative, but he then admitted to the theft, according to the report.
Commanders determined Reising
had violated two department rules regarding the incident: He allegedly gained
unauthorized entry to a restricted area, and he allegedly provided false
information during a disciplinary investigation.
While entering unauthorized
areas usually warrants a written reprimand, showing signs of dishonesty
generally calls for dismissal, police documents stated.
Reinheimer ended his report
with this: “My recommendation for this infraction would be dismissal from his
position as a patrolman for the Vermilion Police Department”
