Meister gets hearing
- Published: August 16, 2018
On Friday, Aug. 3, the Village of Yellow Springs conducted a pre-disciplinary hearing with Police Cpl. David Meister.
Present were Meister, Meister’s attorney David Duwell, Village Solicitor Chris Conard, YS Police Chief Brian Carlson and the hearing officer, Chief Randy Person of the Xenia Police Department.
Meister requested the hearing after an internal police investigation found he acted improperly during two March traffic stops. The hearing, which Meister could have waived, gave him the right to respond to the investigation findings and to present mitigating evidence.
Chief Person has 10 days from the meeting to submit his written report to the Village, after which Village Manager Patti Bates would enact the final discipline, if any, according to Bates this week.
Bates clarified that Person does not make a recommendation to the Village, but is “simply a fact-finder as to if Cpl. Meister, by his actions, failed to follow the General Orders Manual or the Personnel Policy Manual in some way.”
According to Duwell this week, the hearing, which lasted about two hours, was “open and non-adversarial” and “everyone said what they needed to say.”
The pre-disciplinary hearing was rescheduled several times while the Village and Cpl. Meister attempted a mediation process.
“Both sides made a good faith effort to resolve things, and sometimes you need to go to a third party,” Duwell said.
After the Village’s final decision, Meister could still appeal the discipline by taking the matter to court, but, Duwell said, “we’re hoping that’s not necessary.”
The Yellow Springs News encourages respectful discussion of this article.
You must login to post a comment.
Don't have a login? Register for a free YSNews.com account.
No comments yet for this article.