Debate over police officer occupies Norwalk Village Board

By KAREN PARKER | Retired County Line Publisher

Several residents in attendance at Tuesday’s regular Norwalk Village Board meeting expressed concern about an agenda item:

 “Removal of 2021 letter from personnel file”

Evidently the item referred to complaints from some village residents about the way Norwalk Police Chief handled a dog bite incident. At the time, the board did not take any action against the officer, and as it has been a year, Jones was requesting it be removed from his file. While that request was met with some objection, it wasn’t long before the officer was deluged with a cascade of complaints.

Butch Johnson questioned the officer’s hours: “Seems like you set your hours for when no one is around,” he charged. Others complained there was no way to reach Jones when he was off-duty and that even when they left messages, he often did not get it for two weeks, they alleged. There appeared to be general confusion about how Jones’ role intersected with county police.

“The county cannot enforce village ordinances,” pointed out trustee Kim Nofsinger. One solution, suggested Board President Levi Helgren, was to add enough to the budget to hire a full-time officer. There were no takers on that proposal.

Jones said when he was not on duty, the best course was to call the county, which would document the details of the complaint, alert Jones and (if available) send an officer. 

Although the discussion grew heated at times, in the end, the board took no action on the matter.

Other business

• The village office meeting room can be rented for one event per day at a cost of $100 and $100 cleaning deposit.

• Employee reviews were accepted, and an annual raise was set at 3%.

• Janet Henthorne was issued an operator’s license for the 71 Express.

• Jeff Vlasak asked for an extension on his storage of junk waiver. The board agreed but only until Jan 31, 2023. 

• A deck replacement was approved for Allen Vian.

• Police Chief David Jones obtained a $7,000 grant and would like to purchase Stalker RADAR and Stinger Spike Strips. He also requested a duty rifle, as he currently uses his own. All requests were approved. 

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