After coming under fire for sloppy police work, it was clear for leaders that someone needed to take a long hard look at Lake Hamilton Police Department.
And we now know law enforcement consultant Jim Sewell is the man for the job.
“My first impression was reviewing some of their documents and reviewing the state attorney’s report, there’s a lot of issues,” Sewell said.
Some of the department’s issues outlined in a report from the state attorney’s office included mishandling of evidence and dropping the ball on big cases.
Sewell said he’ll use that report to help assess the town’s police department.
“The state attorney’s report really focused a lot on some cases that they did not handle well in control of evidence and property. And that’s going to be some of what I start with,” he said.
Town leaders are hoping Sewell’s 40 years in law enforcement will help them keep their police department.
Many residents made it clear at a special meeting earlier this month that keeping the department is what they want. Town Councilmember Michael Kehoe said leaders plan to make that happen.
“We had a special meeting and it became obvious that our residents want to keep our police department,” Kehoe said. “We felt as though it was important to bring in someone in to evaluate our police department and give us information on how to fix our problems.”
That report is set to be completed by the end of august. Sewell said the report will be thorough and explore every option for the town.
“Part of what we will be doing is interviews with the mayor, the police chief, probably all members of the police department,” Sewell said. “I’ve already had a brief discussion with the sheriff and the state attorney and I intend to do more in-depth with Mr. Hill and with Sheriff Judd.”
Ultimately leaders will decide the fate of the police department but they say they’ll have a manual on what steps to take once they get Sewell’s final report in August.