Commissioners Suspend Clase For 5 Days
July 24, 2019 at 12:43 a.m.
By David [email protected]
While some protesters outside wanted Clase fired, Kelly Bolenbaugh told the commissioners she wanted him transferred to another department where he wouldn’t be involved with guns or animals. She accused him of breaking state and federal law, even though the Indiana State Police and county prosecutor’s office found Clase did nothing criminal.
The commissioners also approved an updated animal control policy to reflect new state laws that went into effect July 1. They approved a policy July 9 in response to the June 19 incident involving Clase.
Etna Green resident Sherry Koser alleged that on June 19 Clase stole her dog, Daisy Mae, from her garage and shot it while she was at work. However, Koser’s landlord gave authorization for Clase to enter the property and take the dog, which was suffering from a ruptured mammary tumor. Details of the incident vary depending on who tells the story.
County attorney Chad Miner began the discussion Tuesday on the incident by reading his report of his investigation.
He said the incident arose as a result of a report that had been received regarding a dog being housed in Etna Green that appeared to be severely ill due to a large bleeding sore located on its body and also due to the fact it had growled at and attempted to bite a person residing at the property.
“Based upon reports received following the incident, the dog had been in obvious poor health for at least several weeks prior,” Miner said.
As a result, Clase was summoned to the property June 19 to determine the dog’s condition and to take appropriate action. He was met by the landlord and led down a public alley to the garage at the rear of the house. The garage door was open and inside was a dog that had a 6- to 8-inch open sore on its belly, which hung down 2 to 3 inches. Blood and watery blood believed to be the dog’s were present.
“Based upon the dog’s condition, Officer Clase took the dog into his custody and euthanized it, an action which he stated that he believed was necessary to avoid prolonged suffering,” Miner said.
Clase did not attempt to contact the owner prior to the euthanizing. Later in the day, the dog’s owner contacted Clase about the dog and asked if she was in any trouble as a result of the dog’s condition.
Miner said he spoke with Clase, Koser and the landlord. Commissioner Brad Jackson contacted Koser by phone and email, but she declined to speak with him until Tuesday’s meeting. Miner said Indiana State Police inquired into the situation at the commissioners’ request and did not find any criminal conduct on Clase’s part.
As for disciplinary actions, Miner said that based upon the facts and after reviewing the personnel policy handbook, and after conferring with the county’s human resources consultant, he believes that if the commissioners wanted to discipline Clase that the appropriate range would be between a written reprimand at the least and up to a five-day suspension without pay at most.
“In light of the procedures set forth in the personnel policy it would appear to me that any disciplinary action beyond a five-day suspension without pay could result in a wrongful discharge action against the county,” Miner said.
In discussion about Miner’s report, Jackson said it wasn’t a good situation. Clase went on the property and did not contact Koser, but the dog was “definitely suffering.”
Commissioner Cary Groninger said the owner was not contacted before the dog was euthanized. He said the county was looking into its policies to make sure there’s protocol and that it’s followed.
Bob Conley, commissioner, said none of the commissioners would wish the dog ill. He said he talked to Clase about the incident who was “heartsick and heartbroken” that he had to do that. Clase was at the meeting but did not speak.
“But when you see an animal that’s been abused or neglected the way that animal was, it chokes you up,” Conley said. He said he grew up on a farm and his dad would have came unglued if one of the farm animals was mistreated “the way this dog was apparently mistreated.”
He said in retrospect, things could have been handled differently but that’s why the county came up with the animal control policy to set up protocol. Clase has been informed of the policy and understands that some people treat their animals like their children, Conley said. “But who of us would let our children suffer the way that dog had suffered for several weeks? If this landlady hadn’t stepped in, who knows how much more suffering that dog would have taken?”
Jackson made the motion to suspend Clase for five days without pay, and it was unanimously approved.
Miner then presented the updated animal control policy ordinance based on state law changes that State Rep. Dave Wolkins’ office brought to the commissioners’ attention. He summarized it in the presentation, but later read the entire ordinance after protesters misstated what the ordinance said and Jackson asked Miner to read it. The ordinance was approved unanimously.
Later, Bolenbaugh approached the commissioners and said she represented all of the protesters.
“Mainly what we want to see is the change. State laws state that every government city needs to go by state and federal laws, no matter what their organization may be. And there were a ton of state and federal laws broken in the Clase case,” she said.
She said the protesters would like to meet with the county and point out everything that went wrong and see if they could update county policies and ordinances so they would be compliant with state and federal laws. Miner said he wasn’t sure what laws were violated, and Bolenbaugh handed him and the commissioners large packets of copies of her research.
Miner told her repeatedly throughout the meeting that he’d be happy to sit down with her and discuss everything. He did remind her that ISP did an inquiry and neither they nor the prosecutor found Clase did anything criminal. He also reviewed the case and laws and, “I did not see how officer Clase was in violation of anything there.”
When Bolenbaugh questioned the ISP inquiry, saying the ISP didn’t actually look up the laws but were told the definition of neglect was enough to give Clase just cause, Jackson told her that was incorrect and he was the one that contacted ISP.
“I’ll tell you exactly what happened,” Jackson said. “I called them and said we want you to make an inquiry because, first I talked to the sheriff and said I assume you don’t want to touch this because it’s county-to-county, just out of respect. He said what I thought he’d say, to take it to state police. I contacted state police and said we’d like you to do whatever type of investigation that you normally do in this. This is new to us, but whatever needs to be done we’d like to be done.”
The ISP officer told Jackson that the process was that they’d look at it, look at the facts, and “if we feel there’s a law broken, then we’d dive into an investigation, and if not, then we don’t.”
Jackson told ISP to do whatever they needed to do.
Bolenbaugh said the ISP public information officer stated there was never an investigation just an inquiry. Jackson agreed with her, telling her there was no investigation because they didn’t find anything from the inquiry to investigate.
After Miner repeated that no unlawful or criminal activity was found to have happened, and that everyone needs to be careful in accusing Clase of doing something criminal or unlawful, Bolenbaugh said the dog was under a veterinarian’s care and no one had contacted Koser about the dog except her landlord. She said the Daisy Mae never bit anyone and the tumor on its stomach was a mammary gland tumor, which is “a very common thing for dogs.” She said she works with animals every day at Black Pines Animal Sanctuary in Albion and “mammary gland tumors are common.”
Bolenbaugh said Koser had a stranger “break into her house, steal from her and basically when she asked for her dog’s body back, she was told it was buried.” She said what the commissioners said earlier was not the truth and she had spoken with the owner and several other people.
Bolenbaugh said it wasn’t right that Clase walked into someone’s home without a warrant. Miner informed her that in some instances they can under extenuating circumstances. Bolenbaugh said there was no proof of extenuating circumstances and “due process was ignored here.” Miner told her she was making a lot of legal conclusions. Bolenbaugh said they’d take the case to the state attorney general if they couldn’t get the results they wanted.
Another woman, Angie Wright, said she was “embarrassed” by the county and that the county was a “disgrace” in this incident. A third woman, Tricia LeCount, said the dog should have been returned to its owner. Tracy Miner accused Clase of having a history of abusing animals and having no regard for anyone else.
Conley and Bolenbaugh got into an argument after she said he interrupted Miner’s comments. Miner was allowed to finish and said the public wants accountability for Clase’s actions.
In response to a few comments, Jackson also had to make it clear that there are different branches of government and that the commissioners can only pass ordinances and policies, they can’t enforce them or arrest people.
“It’s not in our scope of authority,” he said.
While some protesters outside wanted Clase fired, Kelly Bolenbaugh told the commissioners she wanted him transferred to another department where he wouldn’t be involved with guns or animals. She accused him of breaking state and federal law, even though the Indiana State Police and county prosecutor’s office found Clase did nothing criminal.
The commissioners also approved an updated animal control policy to reflect new state laws that went into effect July 1. They approved a policy July 9 in response to the June 19 incident involving Clase.
Etna Green resident Sherry Koser alleged that on June 19 Clase stole her dog, Daisy Mae, from her garage and shot it while she was at work. However, Koser’s landlord gave authorization for Clase to enter the property and take the dog, which was suffering from a ruptured mammary tumor. Details of the incident vary depending on who tells the story.
County attorney Chad Miner began the discussion Tuesday on the incident by reading his report of his investigation.
He said the incident arose as a result of a report that had been received regarding a dog being housed in Etna Green that appeared to be severely ill due to a large bleeding sore located on its body and also due to the fact it had growled at and attempted to bite a person residing at the property.
“Based upon reports received following the incident, the dog had been in obvious poor health for at least several weeks prior,” Miner said.
As a result, Clase was summoned to the property June 19 to determine the dog’s condition and to take appropriate action. He was met by the landlord and led down a public alley to the garage at the rear of the house. The garage door was open and inside was a dog that had a 6- to 8-inch open sore on its belly, which hung down 2 to 3 inches. Blood and watery blood believed to be the dog’s were present.
“Based upon the dog’s condition, Officer Clase took the dog into his custody and euthanized it, an action which he stated that he believed was necessary to avoid prolonged suffering,” Miner said.
Clase did not attempt to contact the owner prior to the euthanizing. Later in the day, the dog’s owner contacted Clase about the dog and asked if she was in any trouble as a result of the dog’s condition.
Miner said he spoke with Clase, Koser and the landlord. Commissioner Brad Jackson contacted Koser by phone and email, but she declined to speak with him until Tuesday’s meeting. Miner said Indiana State Police inquired into the situation at the commissioners’ request and did not find any criminal conduct on Clase’s part.
As for disciplinary actions, Miner said that based upon the facts and after reviewing the personnel policy handbook, and after conferring with the county’s human resources consultant, he believes that if the commissioners wanted to discipline Clase that the appropriate range would be between a written reprimand at the least and up to a five-day suspension without pay at most.
“In light of the procedures set forth in the personnel policy it would appear to me that any disciplinary action beyond a five-day suspension without pay could result in a wrongful discharge action against the county,” Miner said.
In discussion about Miner’s report, Jackson said it wasn’t a good situation. Clase went on the property and did not contact Koser, but the dog was “definitely suffering.”
Commissioner Cary Groninger said the owner was not contacted before the dog was euthanized. He said the county was looking into its policies to make sure there’s protocol and that it’s followed.
Bob Conley, commissioner, said none of the commissioners would wish the dog ill. He said he talked to Clase about the incident who was “heartsick and heartbroken” that he had to do that. Clase was at the meeting but did not speak.
“But when you see an animal that’s been abused or neglected the way that animal was, it chokes you up,” Conley said. He said he grew up on a farm and his dad would have came unglued if one of the farm animals was mistreated “the way this dog was apparently mistreated.”
He said in retrospect, things could have been handled differently but that’s why the county came up with the animal control policy to set up protocol. Clase has been informed of the policy and understands that some people treat their animals like their children, Conley said. “But who of us would let our children suffer the way that dog had suffered for several weeks? If this landlady hadn’t stepped in, who knows how much more suffering that dog would have taken?”
Jackson made the motion to suspend Clase for five days without pay, and it was unanimously approved.
Miner then presented the updated animal control policy ordinance based on state law changes that State Rep. Dave Wolkins’ office brought to the commissioners’ attention. He summarized it in the presentation, but later read the entire ordinance after protesters misstated what the ordinance said and Jackson asked Miner to read it. The ordinance was approved unanimously.
Later, Bolenbaugh approached the commissioners and said she represented all of the protesters.
“Mainly what we want to see is the change. State laws state that every government city needs to go by state and federal laws, no matter what their organization may be. And there were a ton of state and federal laws broken in the Clase case,” she said.
She said the protesters would like to meet with the county and point out everything that went wrong and see if they could update county policies and ordinances so they would be compliant with state and federal laws. Miner said he wasn’t sure what laws were violated, and Bolenbaugh handed him and the commissioners large packets of copies of her research.
Miner told her repeatedly throughout the meeting that he’d be happy to sit down with her and discuss everything. He did remind her that ISP did an inquiry and neither they nor the prosecutor found Clase did anything criminal. He also reviewed the case and laws and, “I did not see how officer Clase was in violation of anything there.”
When Bolenbaugh questioned the ISP inquiry, saying the ISP didn’t actually look up the laws but were told the definition of neglect was enough to give Clase just cause, Jackson told her that was incorrect and he was the one that contacted ISP.
“I’ll tell you exactly what happened,” Jackson said. “I called them and said we want you to make an inquiry because, first I talked to the sheriff and said I assume you don’t want to touch this because it’s county-to-county, just out of respect. He said what I thought he’d say, to take it to state police. I contacted state police and said we’d like you to do whatever type of investigation that you normally do in this. This is new to us, but whatever needs to be done we’d like to be done.”
The ISP officer told Jackson that the process was that they’d look at it, look at the facts, and “if we feel there’s a law broken, then we’d dive into an investigation, and if not, then we don’t.”
Jackson told ISP to do whatever they needed to do.
Bolenbaugh said the ISP public information officer stated there was never an investigation just an inquiry. Jackson agreed with her, telling her there was no investigation because they didn’t find anything from the inquiry to investigate.
After Miner repeated that no unlawful or criminal activity was found to have happened, and that everyone needs to be careful in accusing Clase of doing something criminal or unlawful, Bolenbaugh said the dog was under a veterinarian’s care and no one had contacted Koser about the dog except her landlord. She said the Daisy Mae never bit anyone and the tumor on its stomach was a mammary gland tumor, which is “a very common thing for dogs.” She said she works with animals every day at Black Pines Animal Sanctuary in Albion and “mammary gland tumors are common.”
Bolenbaugh said Koser had a stranger “break into her house, steal from her and basically when she asked for her dog’s body back, she was told it was buried.” She said what the commissioners said earlier was not the truth and she had spoken with the owner and several other people.
Bolenbaugh said it wasn’t right that Clase walked into someone’s home without a warrant. Miner informed her that in some instances they can under extenuating circumstances. Bolenbaugh said there was no proof of extenuating circumstances and “due process was ignored here.” Miner told her she was making a lot of legal conclusions. Bolenbaugh said they’d take the case to the state attorney general if they couldn’t get the results they wanted.
Another woman, Angie Wright, said she was “embarrassed” by the county and that the county was a “disgrace” in this incident. A third woman, Tricia LeCount, said the dog should have been returned to its owner. Tracy Miner accused Clase of having a history of abusing animals and having no regard for anyone else.
Conley and Bolenbaugh got into an argument after she said he interrupted Miner’s comments. Miner was allowed to finish and said the public wants accountability for Clase’s actions.
In response to a few comments, Jackson also had to make it clear that there are different branches of government and that the commissioners can only pass ordinances and policies, they can’t enforce them or arrest people.
“It’s not in our scope of authority,” he said.
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