McCORDSVILLE — Officials overseeing the McCordsville Police Department agreed to pay the town’s police chief for three months of leave before he retires in August.
The McCordsville Board of Police Commissioners first voted in March to place Chief Harold Rodgers on unpaid administrative leave to commence after the leave he started in January under the Family and Medical Leave Act. His FMLA leave followed an incident in Greenfield in early January during which he threatened suicide before a SWAT team intervened.
The board of police commissioners unanimously approved a settlement agreement and memorandum of understanding with Rodgers last week stating the town will pay him full chief’s position compensation from April 30, 2019 through Aug. 1, 2019. Rodgers signed the agreement as well.
Rodgers will retire from the police department in good standing on Aug. 1, according to the documents. He’ll “be entitled to usual and ordinary benefits of retirement, including retirement badge and credentials,” the memorandum states.
Mark Walker, president of the board of police commissioners, said he reflected on Rodgers’ history with the town and its police force when deciding to support the measures. Rodgers was hired in 1990 and is the only police chief the town has known.
“We want to end on a good note,” Walker said. “We want an amicable resolution.”
Gregg Morelock, the board of police commissioners’ attorney, said the badge Rodgers retires with will clearly state its holder is retired. Morelock also said the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, not the McCordsville Police Department, will be responsible for annually certifying Rodgers’ right to retain a weapon.
Walker said instructions on how to apply for the open chief position have been posted to the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy’s website and the town of McCordsville’ website. He added he’s received some responses.
Maj. Paul Casey, McCordsville’s interim police chief, is seeking the position as well.
The board of police commissioners formed a subcommittee to review the applications.
