COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Sheriff John Pollack released a timeline Friday of the department’s dealings with the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards concerning the certification status of former deputy Patrick Hann.
Hann came to the Sheriff’s Department last August after serving the Jonesville Police Department. He has also worked for Marshall Police during his career.
Pollack says Pre-Service Officers are always placed on In-Active Status when they leave a department. The hiring department is then responsible for notifying MCOLEs to activate their certification which Pollack says they did.
Upon hiring Hann, Pollack says they read his MCOLES report and followed up on the issues mentioned as to why he left his previous departments. According to the Sheriff, all were policy violations, none were criminal nor were any of them, in the department’s opinion drastic and they felt they could work on those issues during Hann’s field training.
Hann completed the FTO program with average to above average scores. In October, Pollack says they began to notice MCOLES was not showing the deputy’s certification as activated. After the Sheriff’s Department made inquiries, they were told by MCOLES in January Hann would not be taken off inactive status for two reasons.
The Sheriff says they immediately showed them one of their reasons was incorrect and MCOLES agreed but MCOLES stuck with the second issue.
Pollack pointed out his department checked into that second issue during their pre-service investigation. The department where the second issue occurred explained to the Sheriff’s Department they had no record of the incidents.
MCOLES agreed with a Sheriff’s Department request to appeal their decision.
Hann was immediately taken off Certified duty and put into a non-certified position until the appeal was completed. Pollack said they notified Branch County Courts on February 1 about Hann’s situation and worked with them on dismissing all actions taken by the deputy.
He adds MCOLES sent a Cease and Desist Exercise of Law Full Authority letter to the Sheriff’s Department on February 16 even though they knew Hann had already been taken off certified duty 17 days earlier. Pollack points out it was a letter, not an order.
In another twist, Pollack says the files on the second issue were later located when a new chief in Jonesville came on board and the new chief agreed with the Sheriff’s Department the reasons were not egregious.
While on non-certified duty, Pollack says Hann was terminated for actions completely separate from those mentioned in the appeal process.
Branch County Prosecutor Zach Stempien says two felony cases in Circuit Court as well at least two OWI misdemeanor cases in District Court in which Hann was the investigating officer are being dismissed. Also being dismissed are a number of civil infractions and misdemeanor traffic cases.
Any fines and fees that have been paid will be refunded by the courts.
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