City suing former officer

The city will sue a former police officer in an effort to recoup funds spent on his training.

Portland Board of Works on Thursday voted unanimously to file suit against former officer Patrick Long, who left the department late last year.

The city is seeking $14,977, the full amount of the reimbursement agreement for training at Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. The agreement calls for officers to repay all or a portion of that total if they leave Portland Police Department within three years of completing training.

Long completed his training in August, clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips said, and left the department in December. (He took a job with Winchester Police Department.)

City officials said Long has refused to reimburse the city for his training. 

Board of works members Steve McIntosh, Jerry Leonhard and Mayor Jeff Westlake voted in favor of filing the lawsuit.

City attorney Wes Schemanaur said after the meeting that Long filed a tort claim against the city and is saying that he was forced to leave the Portland department.

The last such case filed by the city was in 2017 and resulted in payment of $5,823.70 to the city.

Board of Works members also approved the purchase of a long bed truck and a trailer. 

The truck for the city’s street department is a used 2019 model from Felking International of Decatur for $59,985, which includes transfer of the trailer and other equipment. (A new truck would have cost more than $90,000, street department superintendent Matt Shauver said.) The street department has two such trucks, which are used for a variety of purposes including collecting brush and hauling stone.

The trailer, which is shared by the street, wastewater and water departments, is used to haul equipment such as the city’s mini excavator and skid loader. Shauver explained that the current trailer is old and is not able to handle some of the city’s equipment. On Shauver’s recommendation, the board approved the purchase of an $11,575 trailer from Frenchtown Trailer Sales of Versailles, Ohio.

Also approved Thursday were pay requests from James Jackson Corporation of Bluffton for work completed as part of the ongoing wastewater treatment plant improvement project. The requests totaled $458,835 for work completed in November and $437,900 for work completed in December. In both cases, 10% will be held back as retainage.