DYER - BOARD ACCEPTS DRUG OFFICER'S RESIGNATION

DYER - Drug officer John Grogan withdrew an original resignation
letter at a meeting Monday and allowed aldermen to act on a second
letter he'd given to the city's police committee chairman.

There was concern among aldermen at a 6:30 p.m. police committee
meeting that the initial letter contained some possibly slanderous
material. The board accepted Grogan's resignation from the Dyer Police
Department, effective May 30, based on the second letter.

Grogan indicated in the second letter, which Police Committee Chairman
Robert Johnson read during the meeting, that he'd resigned because of
differences with Chief Scott Deaver over department polices -
differences Grogan didn't believe could ever be resolved.

Grogan told The Jackson Sun in an interview last week about two
separate incidents of drug evidence stolen from the Dyer Police
Department this year. Police believe inmate trusties working around
the department took the drugs in both cases.

Grogan said his problem was that there was no required internal
paperwork in the form of a complaint on either incident and no
indication of any investigation on either, he said. Deaver denied that.

Deaver initially confirmed an ongoing investigation into a March
incident of missing drug evidence but did not acknowledge an earlier
February incident until after Grogan brought it to The Jackson Sun's
attention.

Deaver has said there was an ongoing investigation into the March
incident jointly with the Gibson County Sheriff's Department. He later
said the February incident also was part of that investigation.

Grogan left the meeting, taking his original letter of resignation
with him, after the board approved his resignation.

His initial letter was partially a complaint, he said. He withdrew it
on the advice of his attorney, Mark Agee of Trenton.

''I think it's in my best interest to turn in a general letter of
resignation,'' Grogan said, adding he didn't want anything he said to
come back to ''haunt'' him and cause him problems in the future.

''It was a disagreement with the chief over city policy ...'' Grogan
said. ''As far as I'm concerned, I've notified the proper authorities.
Whatever they choose to do is their business ... I'm no longer a
member of the Dyer Police Department.''

He said there was nothing in the original letter that he hadn't
already talked about with The Jackson Sun and declined to reveal the
letter.

Johnson said there would be no investigation by the police committee
into the complaints Grogan said he made in the original letter.

Johnson made it clear following the meeting that Grogan resigned,
''not because of the drug investigation that's ongoing,'' but because
of ''differences he had with the chief of police.''

''John's a good officer, and I don't want that hanging over his
head,'' Johnson said.

Aldermen who attended the police committee meeting indicated during
the meeting that they had not received copies of Grogan's original
letter of resignation. They didn't seem to want to know what it said
or to have it read aloud during the 7 p.m. meeting.

Alderwoman Cissy Halford indicated during the meeting that she
believed there were some things board members didn't need to know.

Asked about that after the meeting, she said she didn't want to see
the letter because Grogan didn't want them to.

''He's been a good police officer,'' Halford said. ''He's worked well
with the city. If he didn't want me to see the letter, I didn't want
to read it.''

There were questions to the board's attorney, Bill Barron, during the
police committee meeting such as whether aldermen had to act on both
letters or only the second letter, and whether the original or the
second was part of the city's official records.

Barron said if Grogan didn't pick up the first letter, aldermen would
have to act on them both. The original letter would also be part of
the city's records, and thus available to the public if anyone
requested to see it.

''If he doesn't get it before we start, then it will be a part of our
government record,'' Barron told the board.

Johnson had said he would bring up the resignation during the police
report portion of the meeting. Grogan arrived at the meeting shortly
after it had already started at 7 p.m. Later, Johnson had started to
give the police report when he was stopped, and Barron was allowed to
ask Grogan if he wanted to take back his original letter. Grogan said
he did and came up to get it.

Barron was asked after the meeting why the original letter was not
part of the city records as he had said it would be if Grogan didn't
pick it up before the meeting started at 7 p.m.

He said he meant it would be part of their records if he didn't get it
before the police report. But it was pointed out that Johnson had
started to speak to give the report when he was stopped.

''I don't know what he was going to say,'' Barron said. ''As the
attorney, I felt it was part of my duty to see that the meeting is
conducted and stays in the perimeter of what we're talking about ... I
was only interested in his resignation.''

He said he wasn't interested in the controversial material it
contained and added that he had not seen the letter.