The mayor of Bethel, Ohio, dropped his campaign to fire the village police chief Monday after arguing for more than a month he was unfit for the job.
In a memo to Police Chief Steve Teague, Mayor Jay Noble said he was withdrawing the administrative charges he filed against the chief in early February and would instead issue him a written reprimand. He said Teague, who has been on paid leave for weeks, could return to work as early as Tuesday.
Noble could not be reached for comment. Teague s attorney, Kelly Lundrigan, provided a copy of the mayor s memo but did not respond to questions about it.
Bethel Police Chief can return to work after being placed on leave, independent audit of department
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Mayor attempts ouster of Bethel police chief over summer protests
Bethel mayor files administrative charges against police chief By Trevor Peters | February 18, 2021 at 10:56 PM EST - Updated February 18 at 11:00 PM
BETHEL, Ohio (FOX19) - The mayor of Bethel has filed administrative charges against the villageâs police chief.
The mayor faults the police chief for not doing a good job during last summerâs protest. The chief responded the mayor is using him as a âscapegoat.â
According to Bethel Police Chief Steve Teagueâs lawyers, Mayor Jay Noble has filed 11 administrative charges against the chief over the unrest.
Teagueâs attorneys say they do not know the reason Mayor Jay Noble is trying to remove Teague.
How COVID, BLM protests and two dead cows came between Bethel s mayor and police chief
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WCPO Staff
and last updated 2021-02-18 19:56:46-05
BETHEL, Ohio â There s not much Mayor Jay Noble and Police Chief Steve Teague have seen eye to eye on over the last year.
In a lengthy Feb. 4 memo to the Bethel Village Council, Noble outlined a laundry list of accusations 11 in all criticizing Teague s conduct while overseeing the department over the last year and calling for his removal from office.
Cincinnati.com will update this story.
The day before a Black Lives Matter rally in Clermont County s village of Bethel turned into a national spectacle last June, police officers received reports that counterprotesters were planning to disrupt the event, possibly with violence.
One report warned that motorcycle gangs, including the Hells Angels, planned to attend the rally in hopes of breaking it up. Another said people opposed to Black Lives Matter were being urged to shower the protesters with a good old ass kicking.
Despite the reports of potential violence, which were revealed in an independent audit submitted to village officials this month, Bethel police were significantly outnumbered and outgunned when armed counterprotesters swarmed into Bethel on June 14 and June 15, the audit found.
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