TO: Bethel Village Council

FROM: Mayor Jay Noble

CC: Police Chief Steve Teague

RE: Administrative Charges Against Police Chief Steve Teague and

Recommendation for Removal from Office

DATE: February 4, 2021

Pursuant to Section 737.171 of the Ohio Revised Code, I submit the following
administrative charges against Police Chief Steve Teague and request that Village
Council remove Chief Teague from office due to incompetency, inefficiency,
misfeasance, and neglect of duty.

Background:

Chief Teague was appointed Police Chief of the Village of Bethel on or about April 11,
2019. He completed his probationary period on November 14, 2019. My term of office
as Mayor commenced on January 1, 2020, and since then, as set forth in Section
737.18 of the Ohio Revised Code, I have supervised Chief Teague in the administration
of his official duties. I have had many conversations with Chief Teague and have
inquired into many instances in which I believe he has failed to follow proper procedure,
where his judgment has been questionable, or where his leadership has been lacking.
Based on repeated instances where I believe Chief Teague has failed to effectively
operate his department, follow proper police procedure, and/or exercise good judgment,
I have lost confidence in his ability to lead the Bethel Police Department. I have
detailed the more serious incidents in these charges.

Additionally, in November 2020, the Village hired Chief Scott Hughes to conduct an
audit of the Bethel Police Department. A copy of Chief Hughes’ report is attached. As
set forth in detail in the report, ongoing problems in the Bethel Police Department stem
from the lack of effective leadership and maturity on the part of Chief Teague.
Accordingly, I believe that the charges set forth herein merit his removal from office.

Statement of Charges:

1. Disregard of Employee Health and Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Teague regularly visited
the Tate Township Fire Department for non-essential business or personal
reasons. Village employees raised concerns about the frequent, unnecessary
interactions, which contradicted the Mayor’s Order Regarding Employment
Policies Related to COVID-19 Outbreak. That policy provides, in pertinent part,
that “[a]ll Village employees must exercise their utmost diligence to minimize
 exposure to and spread of COVID-19 until the pandemic is no longer creating a
declared state of emergency.” On April 4, 2020, I reiterated to Chief Teague that
Village employees should not visit other people in person unless necessary to
carry out official duties. Despite implementing the policy and providing specific
instruction, I continued to experience problems with Chief Teague and his
officers visiting the fire department for non-essential reasons, threatening the
health and safety of other Village employees. Ultimately, I had to instruct Chief
Teague to discipline officers who continued to violate the COVID-19 work
policies.

Additionally, I received numerous complaints from Village employees about Chief

Teague’s failure to adopt safe practices to minimize the risk of transmission of
COVID-19. I was contacted numerous times by the Police Clerk, who expressed
concerns regarding her personnel health and safety due to Chief Teague’s
behavior. The Police Clerk indicated that, when she raised these concerns with
Chief Teague, he responded that “oh well, if I get the virus, then you will too.”
Chief Teague’s lack of concern for his employees’ safety and welfare is
unacceptable.

2. Failure to Properly Handle the Black Lives Matter Protest. In June 2020, the
Village experienced protests related to the Black Lives Matter movement. The
protests were poorly handled in terms of manpower and preparedness, and as a
result, officers were placed in harm’s way and the Village was portrayed in a very
poor light.

3. Improper Use of Force and Failure to Properly Report. During the Black Lives
Matter Protest, the Chief observed a Clermont County Sheriff Deputy engaged in
a physical altercation with an individual. Chief Teague unsuccessfully deployed
his taser on the individual, and then “drive-stunned” the individual while he was
on the ground. During the taser deployment Chief Teague inadvertently
“shocked” both the suspect and the deputy. After the deputy took the suspect
into custody, the deputy asked Chief Teague what he wanted to do with the
suspect. Chief Teague advised the deputy to get the suspect’s information and
release him. Following the incident, Chief Teague did not complete a taser
reporting form.

Chief Teague’s handling of the situation violated numerous policies. Chief

Teague failed to adequately document the incident and use of force, failed to
collect necessary evidence, and failed to have the suspect evaluated by a
medical professional prior to his release.

4. Conduct Unbecoming. At the October 7, 2020 Mayor’s Court session, an issue

arose regarding a ticket issued by Chief Teague. Chief Teague was contacted
by the Mayor’s Court Clerk for his input regarding a citation he had issued.
Rather than handle the matter in a professional manner, the Chief responded,
“you should ask the Mayor, he took over Mayor’s court.” This response was
 extremely unprofessional and was embarrassing for all Village officials present
who were working diligently to conduct Mayor’s Court.

5. Lack of Honesty. During the October 13, 2020 Safety Committee meeting, Chief
Teague brought up the need for a school resource officer. He advised the
Committee that the police department is being overly taxed by school
issues. Chief Teague stated that he has been “inundated” by requests to do
home checks for students who are not logging in from home. Following the
meeting, I reached out to school administration. Contrary to Chief Teague’s
assertion, I was advised that there have been no requests for home checks from
Bick Primary and the middle school, and only one request for a home check from
Hill Intermediate. I also checked with the Village police clerk, who advised that
she had not received any requests for home checks. Chief Teague’s statement
to the Committee that the department had been “inundated” appears to be false
and misleading.

6. Failure to Follow Proper Police Procedures – the “Cow Incident.” On October 13,
2020, the Village police department received a report of two loose cows from the
Grant Career Center and a request to euthanize the cows. In response, Chief
Teague, who was not on duty, Corporal Brees, and Officer Houchin went onto
private property located outside of the Village limits to locate and euthanize the
cows. Corporal Brees fired a single round into one of the cows, immediately
euthanizing the animal. Officer Houchin fired three rounds into the second cow,
none of which were fatal. Chief Teague fired an additional 2-3 shotgun rounds
into the second cow, and, at some point, Corporal Brees fired an additional round
from his rifle. After approximately 24-30 minutes, the second cow died.

The handling on this matter was troubling on many levels: the number of officers
involved, the manner in which the cows were euthanized, and the fact that the
cows were located outside the Village limits. In addition, following the incident,
the officers involved, including Chief Teague, were overheard “bragging” about
the incident. Village of Bethel officers should not respond to incidents outside
Village limits without a request from the governing jurisdiction under the Village’s
mutual aid agreement. It is clear that Chief Teague wanted to participate in
killing the cows for his own personal pleasure. As a result of his involvement in
this incident, Chief Teague was late to a scheduled Safety Committee. The
decision to euthanize the cows, the manner in which the cows were euthanized,
and the use of Village personnel and equipment to handle the situation was not
appropriate.

7. Theft in Office. On Friday, October 16, 2020, Chief Teague worked a police
detail for the City of Loveland between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Chief Teague utilized his Bethel police cruiser for the detail. Chief Teague, as a
full time Village employee, and a department head, should not have been out of
the Village for a full day. The Chief’s priority should be on the Village of Bethel,
not other communities. Moreover, Chief Teague was scheduled to be working in
 the Village on the day this occurred. Chief Teague did not schedule time off to
work the detail. Rather, he was paid his regular salary at the Village while he
was working for another community. This constitutes theft in office.

8. Failure to Implement Officer Training. Chief Teague has failed to ensure that
officers in the Bethel Police Department are properly trained. Examples of this
failure are as follows:

a. The Village of Bethel adopted the Lexipol manual for its police policies and
procedures. As part of its paid subscription, Lexipol provides daily training
bulletins (DTB’s), which are released monthly, for Village officers in order
to provide continuous and ongoing training. Chief Teague has failed to
implement the training sessions for Village officers. Despite having these
valuable training bulletins available, Chief Teague has not implemented
these on a consistent basis. Out of 136 DTB’s, Chief Teague had
completed 0, Cpl. Brees had completed 0, and Sgt. Planck had completed
0, Officer Collopy had completed 46, Officer Ginn had completed 46, and
Officer Houchin had completed 136. In total, 618 DTB’s were not
completed by Village of Bethel officers.

b. Following the Black Lives Matter protests, the Village received several
public records requests, including the records of Village police officers. It
was apparent that the Officers had not been properly trained on their
public record obligations, as many were surprised to learn that their
communications during the protests were subject to the Ohio Public
Records Act. Some officers initially refused to provide text messages from
their personal devices. Chief Teague failed to implement proper training
on this issue.

c. On November 11, 2020, Officer Ginn cited a resident for an expired

driver’s license. The citation was improper, as the expiration date for all
licenses, ID cards, and vehicle registrations had been extended to
December 1, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The incident reflects
a failure of Chief Teague to properly train his officers on legal
requirements. The Chief failed to address this issue with officers, as
Officer Collopy cited a resident on December 11, 2020 for an expired
driver’s license. Again, the citation was improper due to the Governor’s
order. Chief Teague has failed to correct this issue in his department,
causing inconvenience to Village residents and embarrassment to the
department.

d. Chief Teague failed to familiarize himself with the Village’s laws before the
June 14, 2020 Black Lives Matter protest. In preparation for the event,
Chief Teague advised the protest organizer, Ms. Gee, that any use of a
“bull horn” sound device would not be tolerated and would be considered
“disturbing the peace.” However, the Village of Bethel does not have a
 noise ordinance, and there are no provisions in the Ohio Revised Code
that would apply. Chief Teague’s warnings to Ms. Gee lack any legal
basis.

9. Mistreatment of Employees. Many employees have reported that Chief Teague

is difficult to work for. His management style has caused a great deal of discord
in the police department, primarily from the Police Clerk/Mayor’s Court Clerk.

a. On July 1, 2020, I was provided with a screen shot of a text that Chief
Teague sent to the Police Clerk, presumably by accident. The text follows
a text exchange between the Police Clerk and the Chief regarding a
basket of items that was gifted to the police department by a citizen. The
basket contained a bag of coffee, and the Police Clerk asked if she could
have the coffee. Following the text exchange, the Chief sent the following
text message to Lisa:

“I think she just comes over herr (sic) to steal shit call me when your done.
I have a zoom meeting at 11.”

Chief Teague then, after realizing he sent the text to the wrong person,
attempted to backtrack, stating, “Lol. It was a joke.” “Sorry. I’m just in a
bad mood.” “Emily had me upset.”

Chief Teague’s unprofessional behavior towards one of his subordinates

is unacceptable and out of line.

b. On July 7, 2020, I received a multiple page complaint regarding Chief

Teague from the Police Clerk/Mayor’s Court Clerk. The complaint sets
forth many examples of Chief Teague failing to lead his team in a
respectful and professional manner, including bragging about tasing
incidents, rude behavior towards visitors and persons attending Mayor’s
court, and threatening to take the police clerk to part time, a decision that
is up to Council, not the Police Chief. I reviewed this complaint with Chief
Teague and instructed him to attend leadership training, as his ability to
engage his team is lacking.

10. Property Room/ Failure to Secure Police Files and Property. The state of police
department files and property in the possession of the Police Department fail to
meet the standards set forth in the Lexipol manual.

Chief Teague is aware that auditing the property room is a Village priority. He
has neglected his duties in that (1) he has failed to conduct a proper audit and
failed to properly account for items in police custody and; (2) he has failed to
implement a system to ensure that property in the possession of the police
department is properly handled. After Chief Teague was placed on
administrative leave, Acting Chief Planck and the Police Clerk discovered
 unsecured items that had not been checked into the property room, including
drugs, money, an untested rape kit, and firearms. Prior to this, Chief Teague
was the only individual who had accessed the property room in many months.
The lack of control and protocol over the Property Room constitutes dereliction of
duty and negligence. The condition of the Property Room creates a liability for
the Village and could adversely impact a criminal investigation.

In addition, Chief Teague has failed to put in place proper protocols to ensure
that police department files and sensitive information are secure. The Lexipol
policies require all reports to be maintained in a secure area, accessible only to
authorized Bethel police personnel. Currently, files are accessible to many
persons, including non-police department employees.

Chief Teague’s lackadaisical and unorganized approach to maintaining property

and police files is unprofessional and falls below the accepted standards for a
police department.

11. Failure to Produce Reports in a Timely Manner. Chief Teague has failed to
implement a process to ensure that reports are completed in a timely manner.
On multiple occasions, the Village has received requests for reports that have not
yet been completed and/or approved by the Chief.

Conclusion

As set forth in the above charges, there is a lack of competency and efficiency on the
part of Chief Teague. Furthermore, on many occasions, Chief Teague has failed to take
proper action or prioritize Village needs, to the point that I feel he has neglected his
official duties. Accordingly, I submit these charges to Council and recommend that
Chief Teague be removed from office.