New Hampton's interim police chief resigns; city officials hope to have new chief named by June
New Hampton Interim Police Chief Doug Eagan (left) will be leaving the department on May 8 and Mayor Steve Geerts says he is preparing to appoint Chad McGee (right) as interim chief.
By Bob Fenske
The revolving door, if you will, continues at the New Hampton Police Department as city officials on Saturday confirmed that Interim Police Chief Doug Eagan has submitted his resignation from the department.
In a press release dated Saturday, Mayor Steve Geerts confirmed that Eagan has submitted his resignation, effective May 8, from the department.
Eagan was appointed interim chief on April 15 after Geerts accepted the resignation of Police Chief Tim Pederson following a closed session of the City Council that lasted for almost 1 1/2 hours. Saturday’s press release stated that “the city was aware Eagan was considering other employment opportunities in the near future.”
Geerts said that while Eagan’s resignation was sooner than anticipated, he and other city officials were grateful for the interim chief’s service to the city since he was hired as a patrol officer in December 2008.
“Doug has served the New Hampton community for over 15 years,” Geerts said, “and we appreciate his service and sacrifices. Law enforcement is a difficult profession, and we certainly wish Doug the best in his future endeavors.”
The press release stated that Geerts is “preparing to appoint Officer Chad McGee as the interim chief of police while the hiring process for the police chief’s position is completed.” Geerts went on to add that McGee is “capable and excited to fulfill this role to ensure the continuity of services to our community by the police department.”
City officials also stated that they have “outlined an efficient and timely hiring process and hope to have a new chief of police on board in early June.”
Saturday’s announcement came at the end of a newsworthy month for the police department.
During its April 1 meeting, the City Council voted to give Pederson a two-day unpaid suspension and create a development plan over an incident in which details were not released. Council members also stated that “this will be purged from Tim’s record after one year without incident.”
But two weeks later, Pederson resigned because of what city officials said was “conduct which was determined to bring reproach upon the city.”
A day after his resignation, the city, with Pederson’s OK, released a statement that detailed the conduct in which Pederson, while shopping in Waterloo, noticed $40 cash remaining in a self-checkout lane and rather than turning the money over to store employees, he retained possession of the money and left the store. When Pederson was contacted by law enforcement and made aware the owner of the money had contacted the store regarding the forgotten money. Pederson immediately returned to the area and turned the money over to the officer handling the call.
In the statement, city officials said they “have been very pleased with his performance and the direction he has taken the police department” but also noted that “law enforcement is held to a higher standard and Chief Pederson recognized this and accepted responsibility and the consequences for his actions.”
With Eagan’s departure, the police department, which at full strength has six officers, will have just four officers.
Yet in Saturday’s press release, city officials said they “we remain confident in the police department’s abilities. While this situation has unexpectedly presented itself, we intend to take this opportunity to redefine the culture and leadership of the police department and look forward to working with the new police chief to redefine our police department.”
Pederson’s departure led to a firestorm of comments on social media, and a group of residents also began a petition that called on the city to reinstate Pederson as chief.
While the City Council held a committee as a whole meeting — i.e, a work session — last Monday and has another scheduled committee as a whole meeting set for this Monday night, its next regularly scheduled meeting isn’t until Monday, May 6.
Saturday’s press release ended with officials touting New Hampton.
“New Hampton continues to be a great place to live, work and raise a family,” officials wrote, “and we, as a city, are committed to maintaining these qualities which make New Hampton home for all of us.”
