Trail of Controversy Follows Chief to Town

This was an article in the Box Elder paper back in July...it appears not all information was shared with Box Elder council members...certainly explains what most of us were wondering...if you click on the link below, there are comments posted...fyi

http://boxelderhorizon.com/2010/07/17/trail-of-controversy-follows-chief-to-town/
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¶ Box Elder’s new police chief was fired in April from his job as chief in Osseo, Minn., after he was accused of sexual harassment and his officers went public with a vote of no-confidence. He was on the job in Osseo less than a year.

Timothy P. Ryan’s previous post as chief of police in Millville, Mass., ended amid controversy in May of 2006 after 19 years on the job and 24 years in the department. That town’s board of selectmen struck a deal to accept Ryan’s resignation after the chief and two of the town’s officers where put on administrative leave amid charges of impropriety and misconduct.

Box Elder council members did not know the controversial parts of Ryan’s past before casting their unanimous vote on July 6 to approve his hire, one council member says. And it is unclear if members of the city’s search committee — other than mayor Al Dial — knew about Ryan’s troubles.

But Mayor Dial said he was aware of Ryan’s past when making the hire. And he stands by the decision, saying he believes the allegations trailing Ryan to South Dakota are unfounded.

Osseo Mayor Steven Menth sees things differently.

“Box Elder just opened a big can of worms,” Menth said when told Ryan had been hired as chief.
Menth said it took him a year to “get rid” of Ryan. Menth served on the Osseo City Council for the majority of Ryan’s time as chief. He became mayor of the small Minnesota town in January of this year.

Sexual harassment charges were leveled against Ryan by his administrative assistant, Sally Schmidt, and female police officer, Jane Szczepanik. Schmidt filed a lawsuit against the city. The status of that lawsuit is unclear.

Other complaints from the Osseo officers included that Ryan was indecisive and often unavailable to their radio communications, according to a report on the web site of television station WCCO in Minnesota.

But Ryan also had his supporters in Osseo. At one point city administrator Greg Withers told the council Ryan was doing an excellent job as chief.

In addition, an outside audit by Public Safety Consultant Donald Davis found no wrong-doing on Ryan’s part, but his report to the city did not mention specifics and indicates that the sexual harassment complaints were outside the scope of the audit.

And while Ryan refused to comment on his previous employment for this story, the audit says that: “In attempting to introduce change within the agency, conflicts with regard to the chief’s management and communication styles developed between he and the employees. He believes he was being overly challenged and criticized by the personnel with regard to rules, procedures and expectations … The situation deteriorated to the point that on Oct. 9, 2009 the officers passed a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the chief.

“The expectation of change which Chief Ryan believes he was directed to implement was not embraced by all agency personnel. Change of any type when introduced to an organization can have positive or negative outcomes. The most recent outcomes within the Osseo Police Department have been negative …”

Ryan was placed on paid administrative leave in Osseo in February and the town board voted in April not to renew Ryan’s employment agreement.

In Millville, Mass., where Ryan was named chief at age 25, he and two officers, including his brother Sgt. James Ryan, were placed on administrative leave and Chief Ryan’s resignation was eventually accepted. Charges against Ryan in Millville included complaints of impropriety and 21 disciplinary policy violations.

One former Millville officer, Donald R. Blanchette, told selectmen that he was routinely disparaged by Ryan in front of other officers and that the chief made ethnic slurs against him, according to a report on the hearing in the Worcester Telegram Gazette.

The deal to accept Ryan’s resignation was reached after two disciplinary hearings. Part of the deal being that Ryan be allowed to remain, technically, a police officer in the town for a short time so he could attend the FBI academy for municipal officers.

Diane McCutcheon, who was the president of the Millville Board of Selectmen, which is the same as a city council, said she could not talk much about the reasons for Ryan’s departure, but did say she believed the town did the right thing.

“I do wish him well in the future,” she said. “But the town has moved on. Things are good and positive (now). That’s the way it should be.”

A current member of the board, Roland Barrett, said he was not a selectman at the time Ryan was chief, but he didn’t have a problem with him. In fact, Barrett said, Ryan went above and beyond to help him out at least two or three times.

“My feelings about him are positive,” said Barrett. “I know there are a lot of mixed emotions about him, but my dealings with him were pleasant. I didn’t have a personal relationship with him, so I’m not saying it to stick up for him. I just can’t say anything bad about Timmy.”

In a prepared statement at the time, published in the Telegram Gazette , Ryan said: “The town and I have agreed to resolve our outstanding differences. As part of this agreement, I will be leaving the Department effective December 31, 2006. During the interim period, I will be pursuing other professional opportunities and will not be involved in Police Department affairs. I wish to express my regret that the town, the Millville Police Department and those persons who filed complaints had to endure this trying period. It is my hope that my departure and this apology will serve to heal rifts caused by these incidents, and I pledge to support the town’s desire to move forward.”

Ryan arrived in Box Elder shortly after leaving Osseo, Minn., where he served as the chief of police for 9 months before being placed on leave and eventually fired.

Box Elder had been without a chief since Feb. 17, when Dial fired John Keegan from the position for alleged insubordination and misuse of city property. The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office handled supervisory duties for the Box Elder police department until Ryan was hired.

Dial told the Box Elder Horizon that an extensive investigation into Ryan’s background was performed by the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office prior to his hiring. The allegations against Ryan are unfounded, Dial said.

Dial, during an interview at city hall alongside Ryan, refused to discuss the issue further on the record. Ryan also declined to discuss his past troubles.

Pennington County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Brian Mueller said his office checked into criminal, employment and credit histories, interviewed references provided by Ryan, and found independent references. If anything came up in that process, it was looked into, Mueller said.

As to the extensiveness of the background check, Mueller said, “We check what we check. As far as the thoroughness of it, I can’t speak to that.”

Mueller also served on the hiring committee in charge of finding the new chief of police, but neither he nor the sheriff’s office gave recommendations as to who the city should hire, Mueller said.

Box Elder City Council President Jane Maine was also on the search committee. She said she was not willing to give out information on the new chief and added she would not commit to whether she knew about Ryan’s past.

One councilman who definitely did not know about Ryan’s past when the city hired him is Bill Griffiths.

A surprised Griffiths found out about Ryan’s past when he was contacted by the Box Elder Horizon. When Griffiths cast a “yes” vote to hire the chief, a vote which was unanimous after an executive session, Griffiths said he had no idea.

That was something that should have been brought out in executive session, Griffiths said.

“If the city council knew about it, it may not be such a big deal, but they should’ve been honest about it,” Griffiths said. “That is what I don’t like. Why was it not brought up? If it’s true, I think the people of Box Elder should know who their new chief is.”

According to Griffiths, the council members, who include himself, Maine, Charles Wood, Barb Frerichs, Terry Wenrick and Al Labine, went along with what was recommended by the hiring committee. He added the council members hired Ryan based on what they knew. Griffiths added he hadn’t even seen a resume.

“I would’ve thought if they knew about it, they would share it,” he said. “They told us what a good guy he was. That he answered their questions, some before they even asked them. If I would’ve known about this, I would’ve wanted to know more. What if he’s innocent? I want to know the facts. Now, nobody is saying nothing.”

Phone calls to Frerichs, Wenrick and Labine were not returned. The Box Elder Horizon was unable to reach Wood.

Lana Bradstream can be reached at lana@boxelderhorizon.com or 605-381-6699