Town of Elizabeth intended to fire its police chief, sued 9NEWS trying to keep that secret
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- Опубликовано: 8 апр 2024
- A 2022 document recently obtained by 9NEWS shows that Elizabeth's town administrator recommended the termination of now-former Police Chief Melvin Berghahn before his resignation in December of that year.
After leaving the Elizabeth Police Department, Berghahn applied to become Edgewater Police's commander and did not disclose on his application that Elizabeth intended to fire him, records show.
Berghahn was promoted to Elizabeth's police chief in January 2021. The town announced his resignation in December 2022.
Read more: www.9news.com/article/news/lo...
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9NEWS (KUSA) is located in Denver, Colorado.
So sued you to keep you quiet on public records matters... sounds exactly like a prior restraint countersuit to me.
Nailed it.
Resigned. That way he can be incompetent somewhere else. Law enforcement is the largest organized crime syndicate in existence.
You are wise.
End qualified immunity now!
Yes but do you know why? Because unlike the other thugs they serve the masters well enough to get away with it.
Society is a threat. I'm not a full on Anarchist, I want to like the police, the government, etc; but being aware of history you can't pretend it exists to serve us, it exists to serve those in power.
$122K a year to hire the town bully.
I bet they could outsource the job to an illeg-....er, 'migrant' for half that much.
@@publicenemynumerounothe person they outsourced it to would probably do better job and treat the fellow employees with more respect.
@@rogerbouchard7135^^^ 💯% ^^^
@@publicenemynumerounopretty sure they would understand citizens rights better. Thanks for the great idea.
The town's attorney should be disbarred for being incompetent.
The brain trust of the dirty judiciary; it doesn’t matter the crime, its who is on the panel.
What? They sued you because the Town was scared he'd sue them? Insane!
It's always ironic when someone's actions *cause the very outcome they were trying to avoid.*
I think the city leaders thought the former police chief would sue if the memo were to be relaxed without a court order. There are a lot of companies that don't allow bosses to give references over far if getting sued. They'll only confirm employment history.
I can understand their concern. There are so many legal and nonlegal methods in place that protect bad cops.
All Elizabeth did was make people weary about how transparent they did not wish to be.
Which begs the question, what else have they tried to hide?
You can bet citizen journalists will be on them now.
Why in the world does a tiny town of 2,000 people believe they need their own police force? Why can’t they utilize county sheriff’s deputies?
Gives them the excuse to raise taxes and fees
It’s about what they steal for the jurisdiction via “fines,” and “grants” for certain arrests and -persecutions- prosecutions. And what they further steal via “asset seizure and forfeiture.”
Money.
At 2k most municipalities will have at least one LEO. Elizabeth is growing rapidly. Too rapidly.
My high school had more than 2000 people and we didn't have our own police force!!!
@@ianbattles7290 did have bullies though 😐
Should have been fired! Weak administrators 😕
Would this allow someone on the receiving end of his future mistreatment to sue both towns?
suing you for filing a public records request is a direct violation of your 1A rights and you should have sued the shit out of them in return! they should also be criminally charged
the blue wall of silence speaks volumes
Emagine going to your bank and cashing your $10,000 check each month and laughing while knowing you will never be charged for anything because people are afraid of you because you are a cop...
Police can resign before any disciplinary action goes on their jacket. Then they get help from their union rep in making the resignation look good, go onto another department and become a liability for them because other departments need bodies. Bad cops know they can hop departments when their behavior gets dicey.
You are wise.
Gypsy cops.
💯
nailed it.
🇺🇸 police departments need to police their recruits and hires.
*Bad cops* just move on to the next town, this happens *every day* .
Police "unions" are not like ordinary unions -- they are self-protection schemes.
I lived just outside the town limits of Elizabeth back in 2018. This sort of secretive mentality doesn't surprise me.
Thank you 9News for your integrity. In today it is all you have.
The only thing he is enjoying is $122,500 a year.
Recycling trash that’s all this is.
🗑️
COMMUNITIES SHOULD BE ... Cautious when considering employing transient cops. They typically don't leave a department because they weren't a liability to the people. *** Just ask Wheat Ridge PD.
It’s crazy. RUclips has tons of videos about cops who did things like beating the hell out of someone, and they were allowed to resign and move on to a job elsewhere rather than get a termination on their record.
You’re absolutely right. If a department sees that an applicant has worked for multiple agencies, they need to do a little digging instead of just hoping they are hiring someone decent.
@@k-pm6iy Transient cops cost tax payer's too much! *** In less than two calendar years, Denver has used tax payers hard earned money to pay out OVER $36,000,000.00 in civil liability judgements.
@@k-pm6iy Police departments don't want to hire someone "decent". They love this kind of psychopath.
Sue them back for retaliation
Pick up the damn phone! Do these mayor/council not talk to each other? They let him put an excuse on paper, and he's good to go?
Thisnt really about the chief, but the mayor, town attorney and town employees are all bullies.
Hope you filed a lawsuit against the town manager.
SHOULD NOT BE HIRED...NO ACCOUNTABILITY
The town so feared and was so intimidated by him the sues journalist.
A police chief leading by intimidation and fear??? Say it isn't so! 🤮🤮🤮
Why is it that government in general holds nothing
but contempt for the public that they are working for?
This is just plain stupid any way you look at it
It's not just that one town. I am suing the state. Yesterday my attorney met with the Attorney General and they said they are going to fight me in court because they are the government and the courts can't tell them what to do. What kind of incompetence are you electing in that state? They will spend as much taxpayers money as they need to keep themselves in power!
Government logic 101: Don't worry about what we're doing. Just keep paying your taxes.
Because ACAB......prove me wrong....
How does somebody retire after working less than 2 years at 100,000 a year job. I want to go there and get me a job
The attorney and town supervisor should be banned from any government involvement beyond voting until they repay the cost of the suit.
Thanks for the coverage. It's only by shining a light on bad policing that it will be exposed.
Once you’re in, you’re in for life…the ThinBlueLyin’ Gang.
Yes, I worked in the field and saw it first hand. Very difficult to fire a certain race of people without the threat of getting sued.
@@andreacalkins5189 whyte people?
When you fear integrity and accountability, you are NOT the good guys!
It’s absolutely wild that a police department can fire someone because they are a danger to the community, then another department hires them and says they don’t regret it…. This is why we can’t trust the police.
🎯
Government vs. the people
You may want to write that down.
That's ridiculous. And this is clearly why we have public records laws.
there are two ways to look at this and both must be considered carefully because Elizabeth is a small town and we all know how that can be. First, the allegations may be true and a schmuck has been passed on to another town that accepting him. Whether the new job knew about the issue in Elizabeth is really not important.
Second, the situation in Elizabeth is a sham and the town was railroading him. This may seem unlikely, but railroading police chiefs is popular throughout the US.
What is the truth? Probably in the middle. It is likely someone "important" got a ticket and the chief refused to 'help' and that put him in the bullseye. Then, behavior the council/manager never cared about was used to try to "fire" him.
Yea, suing the press, always a great idea.....
Especially an investigative journalist.
The town should fire their legal team, because even a dead cat could have seen how this was going to go.
IM 100 PERCENT SURE THAT INFO IS PUBLIC RECORDS , OWNED BY THE PUBLIC CAN BE LOOKED AT ANY TIME AND DICUSSED ANYWHERE
Yall should find out where he worked before and find out if he is a Gypsy cop who would otherwise be in jail if it weren't for the thin blue line of protection.
Another corrupt Town 🙄I’m shocked
Props to you, chasing down things like this are what journalists should do. It's unfortunate they chose to sue you for your constitutionally protected actions, hopefully the voters of that town are upset about the waste of money.
No one gets fired, f up and you move up.
Only spending about $5 per resident seems rather low to me I would have expected it to be closer to $100 per resident.
Sounds like more journalists and auditors need to audit this town....and it's public servants. Why are LEO's able to hide body cams? Isn't that tampering with evidence.
Issue is at the state and federal level allowing incidents like this where a problem officer is allowed to resign from a department and move another one under a cloud of misconduct
Only spending about $5 per resident seems rather low to me I would have expected it t to be closer to $100 per resident.
Well, that's a great reason never to go to Edgewater.
The bad apples in the police seem to be allowed to put down new roots and simply grow another tree.
Again, screw up and move up.
Corruption.
Elizabeth? Where ? What state?
Read the About/More section.
Colorado
My colorado is getting californicated :'(
what state? elizabeth nj?
Elizabeth, Colorado.
Reparations going on here?
5.7 is so mid especially considering a single-turbo I6 BMW X5 with less horsepower is quicker
Law enforcement as a whole needs to be Restructured. Higher education requirements (A 2.0 GPA, D+, and 16 weeks of training is all you need to be a police officer), Medical evaluation for Health and Steroid usage (steroids are known to increase irritability, anxiety and aggression and cause mood swings, with symptoms of paranoia and lack of emotion), psychological evaluations annually, term limited Civilian Oversight board
I think it's the officer safety culture that really has to change. The thing where they train traumatic stress responses to ensure that there's zero hesitation before shooting when an officer feels threatened, and encourage a state of perpetual hyper-vigilance when in public. Officers who learned that will generally oppose anything that prioritizes civilian safety, and probably effective psychological treatment because they believe the disorder they acquired/gave to others is a good thing.
They're also recruiting the wrong kind of candidates. In his book, "Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us", Brian Klaas highlights other countries' (specifically New Zealand's) approach to law enforcement recruitment vs. in the U.S. In New Zealand, they recruit based on community and the "protect and serve" model. In the U.S., we recruit candidates who are interested in military-style power (i.e., recruitment ads show police officers driving around in tanks, using military-grade weapons, etc.).
Police corruption
The absolute irony that the town library and police station is hilarious. Ten bucks says that not a single cop has ever entered the library, much less checked out a book.
Fear not we all know fish rots from the head down. Whoever hired him had complete knowledge of his records, complaints, and issues. He is still free to move on to any other department in the USA and continue this same behavior and teach a new department how he “ serves the community “. So many chiefs are “ gypsy officers “.
They just go on down the road! Thick blue line thugs!!!
COP...Criminal on Patrol
Bad Penny
.. 🙄
Is this why more and more people are now doing less and less for free for their Public-servants/Trustees whenever they want you to DO something for them?
Them-` Give me your id` - `Answer our questions` - `Do what we tell you to do` - etc.,
You-`Yes, certainly (there is now an agreement to comply/obey/accommodate them) it’s just that we charge you $911 for remedy to DO that for you and because we have NO-CONFIDENCE with you administrating our Trust, payment must be with us immediately and any further communicating with us is with you accepting the deal, thank you`
Please remember that THEY are NOT volunteers…..so why should YOU be?
The secret to dealing with your treacherous Trustees/paid Public-servants is just two words….CONDITIONAL acceptance.
Would it not be best to be the polite BUSINESS-man….NOT the victim.
SLAPP suit 🤔
WHY DOES POLICE NEED A UNION WHEN THEY HAVE QUALIFIED IMMUNITY
They don't Why don't you wander back to your echo chamber.
Poor edgewater
They brought it on themselves. Until they get sued for wrongful death, or abuse of power.
Towns act the country are crooked,police,included,, time for a reset
people also watch alex jones truth
oy vey
😪😪😪
As soon as you make the story about yourself it's not journalism, it's literally ACTIVISM..... you of all people should know this.
He really didn't make the story about himself they did when they filed the lawsuit.
This is why the people do not trust the police departments OR the police. Too many "old boy" attitudes.
Good 'ole Boys revolving door safety net. Business as usual, nothing to see here, move along citizens...
Quit crying when some don't go home
biden must go
Why?
Hope you find sobriety.
More dirty cops just moving from town to town
Thugs in blue always come after you !
If it is a Colorado police department, it is a garbage department.😒😒😒
Sooooo....no big surprise...the Fraternal Order of Law Enforcement Officers protecting one of their own...Us and Them, folkes, Us and Them. Welcome to a Banana Republic 🍌
Show me a Law Enforcement Officer and I’ll show you a criminal with a badge.
Big shocker huh, a corrupt cop never happens right?
Gypsy cops
Diversity hire