O'Fallon Police Officers' Association Airs Concerns Over Council's Inaction

The O'Fallon Police Officer's Association issued a press release Friday in response to a March 14 decision by the O'Fallon City Council to take no action on the OPOA's request for an investigation of the city's police department.

The OPOA is a voluntary membership organization that is part of the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest professional police labor organization in the country.

The OPOA first expressed their concerns in 2010, but they were "met with excuses, delays, and attempts by (Chief of Police) Col. (Roy) Joachimstaler to place blame on others," the press release stated.

The OPOA voted "no confidence" in Joachimstaler in December 2012, followed less than two weeks later by a statement from the city that "Colonel Roy Joachimstaler has the complete and total support of the Mayor, City Council, and City Administrator."

In January of this year, the OPOA provided details of the alleged mismanagement to the city. Among the issues mentioned in the press release were:

• unethiical conduct and mismanagement of the police department
• inefficient staffing and lack of adequate personnel
• inability of managers to correct deficiencies
• questionable hiring processes

According to the press release, the city responded that they had conducted an inquiry, they were satisfied with the department and the chief and that no further action would be taken. The OPOA stated that they learned the inquiry involved talking with the former City Administrator and allowing the Chief to rebut allegations in a memorandum.

The OPOA stated that no other staff or management were questioned as part of the inquiry, and that they were refused access to the Chief's memorandum.

As a result of the March 14 decision, the OPOA stated, "This inaction by the Mayor and Council left the OPOA with no further options than to bring their concerns to the residents of O'Fallon."

Minutes for the March 14 meeting of the O'Fallon City Council are not yet posted. Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.