Acting Independence police chief put on paid leave amid city’s overtime investigation
Acting Independence Police Chief Ken Jarnagin has been put on paid administrative leave as the city is investigating a case where one police officer made an extra $160,000 in overtime pay last year to complete unauthorized construction work, The Star has learned.
City Manager Zach Walker announced the suspension of “one police officer” for at least two weeks— without naming Jarnagin — on Monday evening as city leaders were scheduled to sit down for a regularly-scheduled meeting at Independence City Hall. In a statement, Walker said the decision was being made as a display of integrity.
“This decision has been made to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the parties involved,” Walker said in the statement, adding that the city would “continue to provide updates as appropriate.”
The potential misuse of overtime — the scope of which remains unclear — has drawn backlash from city leaders in recent days. On Monday night, Walker drew the brunt of the heat from elected officials questioning why such spending was allowed in the first place.
Speaking to The Star, Walker declined to identify the police officer placed on suspension. But an email obtained by The Star from Walker to members of the police department says Capt. Adam Dustman is taking over as the acting interim chief for the time being.
The news of Jarnagin’s suspension comes as the city is hiring an outside firm to investigate the circumstances that allowed one officer to claim what appears to be the highest annual pay of any person in city government during 2021. The issue was brought to the attention of city leaders by a whistleblower as employee W2s were being distributed this year.
“I think at best we’ve got gross misconduct and very poor judgment from management within the police department and at worst we may have fraudulent activity,” Walker told The Star during an interview last week.
Jarnagin was named to lead the department after former Police Chief Brad Halsey announced his retirement in December after five years at the helm. Placing the temporary chief on paid leave is the first act of discipline the city has taken in response.
The police department has also been ordered to cease construction work and any overtime pay not related to law enforcement.
Last year, the police department asked for permission to use some of its budgeted expenses for making needed safety upgrades to the police building, which sits across from City Hall near Independence Square. But Walker has said the overtime incident is inconsistent with the city’s purchasing policy, saying the department should have consulted with public works or put out a bid for construction work billed at such a cost.
Instead the officer was paid about $160,000 for 2,800 hours of overtime in 2021 to complete remodeling work in the detention center, the records division and a conference room. The employee in question holds the rank of master officer, a position that generally earns about $70,000 per year, Walker said.
The city manager updated council members at the beginning of their meeting on Monday. But two members questioned whether he should hire an outside firm because he or his office could be implicated in any investigative findings.
The Independence charter calls for a management analyst, an independent auditor who answers to the council. But that position has been vacant for months. Council members raised the idea of hiring a contracted management analyst performing other work for the city to look into the issue, but took no action.
After the meeting, Walker said he would stay on course with the outside firm he had contacted to look into the police overtime issue.
The controversy comes on the eve of a municipal election.
Mayor Eileen Weir is facing five primary challengers in Tuesday’s nonpartisan election. In that election, six candidates will be narrowed down to two general election candidates. Likewise, five candidates for council will be narrowed to four candidates.
At the end of Monday’s meeting, City Council member Mike Steinmeyer asked Weir to call for an executive session to discuss Walker’s performance.
“If a change in leadership is needed, we need to have the conversation sooner rather than later,” Steinmeyer said. “And the best way to do that is to get feedback on his performance.”
Weir agreed to call for a closed meeting on Wednesday, one day after the primary election, but noted she would not be able to attend.
Walker’s contract calls for an annual performance review to be held on the anniversary of his hiring. That review was completed in October, but only four of the seven council members submitted feedback on his performance.
Council member John Perkins noted that Steinmeyer was among the three council members who didn’t weigh in four months ago.
“So now you’re bringing this up?” Perkins said. “You did not turn in your review that was due in October?”
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 8:15 PM.
