Suspended officers await decision

By MIKE FLETCHER
Tribune staff writer

July 13, 2008 10:54 pm

— The decision on how to punish two high-ranking Kokomo police officers accused of violating department rules and regulations is now in the hands of Kokomo Police Department Chief Rob Baker.
Initially, Maj. Greg Davis and Lt. Jeff Kirk requested a Board of Inquiry to review their case. The pair have since withdrew that request, leaving the decision of punishment up to the chief.
“My recommendation goes before the Board of Works Wednesday,” Baker said Friday.
The officers were placed on administrative paid leave on March 24. Davis was demoted to his previous rank of captain by the Kokomo Board of Public Works & Safety shortly after being placed on paid administrative leave.
The two officers have been required to stay at home during regular work hours and do not have access to their department office spaces.
The suspensions came shortly after Davis and Kirk brought allegations of Kokomo Police Department misconduct to the FBI.
Capt. Dave Mitchell, head of the Professional Standards Unit, said his internal investigation is complete and is awaiting the chief’s final decision on punishment. If the punishment exceeds a five-day suspension, it will have to go before the Board of Works, Mitchell said.
Davis and Kirk are being represented by attorneys John Kautzman and Elizabeth Bemis with the Ruckleshaus, Roland, Kautzman, Blackwell and Hasbrook law firm of Indianapolis.
The officers were placed on paid administrative leave for violating KPD policies and procedures not related to criminal activity, Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight said in March.
Davis and Kirk reportedly brought the allegations to the FBI during the administration of former Mayor Matt McKillip.
Davis has been a member of the department since September 1979 and Kirk has been with the department since September 1981.