Despite the recommendation of the Chief of Police, suspension disciplinary action has taken place in the incident involving three off-duty police officers.
Sergeant Derek Pfeifer and officer Logan George will both be suspended without pay. Pfeifer for 3 days, George for 10 days. That’s a lot different than the recommended discipline the chief, Brian Hottinger made to the city manager.
Hottinger wanted to suspend Pfeifer for three days and fire George, but city manager Joe Denen overruled that recommendation and imposed a discipline he felt was more suitable. Many citizens were outraged on social media after learning the chief‘s recommendation did not match for both officers.
Pfeifer will also be on probation for a month after the suspension, while George will be on probation for six months. The reason for the differences is because Denen said Pfeifer’s job evaluation, overall, rates better than George’s.
Denen wrote to city council in an email Friday that Pfeifer has military leave coming up and his suspension will take effect sometime before or after, but not during his leave. George’s suspension began immediately on Thursday.
The third officer involved, Ricky Musser was not involved in the altercation, itself and did not do anything wrong, officials said.
The Guardian was the first to break the story of the two getting into a fight on June 22. Click here for that story.
