MENTONE – Perception of the Mentone Police Department is that it is not active or as active as it should be, according to resident David Hudson.
“The perception is reality to a lot of people,” Hudson said.
Tuesday night at the town council meeting, Hudson told council members that while he did not secure a place on the Republican ballot for the November general election, he’s been approached by several people over the last several weeks about the police department.
An incident Aug. 25 has town residents particularly concerned about police reaction time in Mentone as the rumors are that it took about 40 minutes for the police to respond.
On Aug. 25, 23-year-old Anthony Joseph Fulton, Claypool, kicked in the door of 62-year-old Jaime Montelongo’s residence in Mentone, according to a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department report. Fulton allegedly kicked in the door out of desperation because he was being chased. Medics checked out Fulton before he was transferred to Kosciusko County Jail on a preliminary charge of residential entry.
Hudson said Tuesday he came up with several ideas for the police department.
One idea would be for the town to get rid of the town marshal and sign a contract with the county for law enforcement. Hudson said he wasn’t sure if that was the best idea or not.
Another suggestion from Hudson was for the town council to create a safety board. He said the council has authority to collect for the safety board’s creation.
Hudson said he also was researching a Neighborhood Watch Program like the one in North Manchester.
While Mentone may not have too many issues, Hudson said there are many young people moving into town. He said he also sees many drivers not following the traffic laws.
“Have you ever notified the police department of those incidents?” deputy Terry Engstrand asked.
“No,” Hudson replied.
Tim Croy, council president, said he liked the ideas Hudson presented.
Hudson said there needs to be accountability with the police department. The department needs to report the number of incidents it responds to so the public knows what officers are doing.
“It’s not that I’m coming down on you two or the department,” Hudson said to Engstrand and town marshal Jim Eads, “but there’s got to be accountability.”
The police department includes Engstrand, Eads and several reserve officers. Only two live in Mentone.
Hudson suggested that perhaps the town council change its regular monthly meeting to the second Monday of the month instead of the first so the police department can turn in a police report in advance of the meeting to be discussed. The council met Tuesday this month because of the Labor Day holiday Monday.
Councilwoman Jill Gross said she’s had people discuss the Aug. 25 incident with her, too. She said people are afraid to come to the board meetings because they are afraid of repercussions.
“I do think we need to look into it,” Croy said. “I totally agree.”
Croy told Hudson the council will kick some ideas around and he appreciated Hudson’s comments.
“I would like to see more people like you get involved,” Croy said.
He later told Hudson that if he finds out more information about the Neighborhood Watch Program to let him know.
At the end of the meeting, Eads asked if he could schedule an executive session with the town council. When asked when, he suggested right after the meeting. Because of state law requiring the council to give the public an advance notice, the executive session could not be held after the meeting. An executive session to discuss personnel matters was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 20.
According to the Citizen Media Law Project website (www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/open-meetings-laws-indiana), in order for a town council to hold a closed session, it must meet the following procedural requirements:
– the governing body must give public notice of the executive session at least 48 hours in advance, and the notice must state the time, date and location of the session and reference the specific statutory exception justifying closure of the meeting;
– the governing body must certify by a statement in the memoranda of the executive session that it discussed no subject matter beyond that specified in the public notice; and
– no final action may be taken in executive session.
