Mayor suspends Blair police chief

A public hearing has been scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. to discuss complaints that were filed and led to the suspension of Blair Chief of Police Kent Johnson.

Mayor John Rawson and city attorney Mark Radcliffe served Johnson with a notice of his suspension on Jan. 21 and Rawson said the investigation is expected to take 30 to 60 days. Rawson said a police commissioner is conducting the investigation, but did not know the commissioner’s name. Radcliffe later said the commissioner is attorney Jon Siefert. The hearing will be held at Blair City Hall, 122 S. Urburg St., 

 The suspension has left the department shorthanded as officer Kim Potts is, apparently, on medical leave. That left only officer Connor Kokott on the department until Jan. 24 when the city hired Randy Jensen to serve as the interim police chief. 

This is the second time Jensen has served as the interim police chief, doing so for much of 2020 after the controversial exit of former chief Tim Wheeler.

The city council had attempted to suspend Wheeler on Oct. 22, 2019, but the former chief filed a grievance in which it was determined the council was not authorized to take such action. The council later appointed a panel to determine what disciplinary action should be taken on Wheeler, before his 20-year run as a law enforcement officer in the city came to an end with a severance agreement.

Wheeler’s last official day as the police chief was Feb. 20, 2020, though he had been on paid leave since Jan. 1 of that year. Jensen served as the interim chief until Johnson took over in September. 

Disciplinary action against Wheeler began after he sent an unauthorized letter to the village of Ettrick calling for the resignation of village trustee Josh Hanson.  Rawson said he could not comment on why Johnson was suspended. 

City tavern owner David Donnelly, who is running for a spot on the city council, has complained to the council about what he said was harassment from the police department. Donnelly specifically complained about both Johnson and Jensen. 

At the December’s regular council meeting, Donnelly said he felt like he had been “pushed around” after complaining about the police presence in his tavern at November’s meeting. He said Johnson insulted him and the police department was scaring his customers away. 

“Kent has been coming onto my property and doing other stuff without my permission,” Donnelly said.

Donnelly also complained because he thought his previous grievances had gone unaddressed. 

At previous meetings, other tavern owners had complimented the work Johnson had done as police chief.

Rawson was unable to confirm if Johnson’s suspension was related to Donnelly’s complaints. 

The Times submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to determine if more complaints have been filed against Johnson, but did not receive a response before press time.