The Brookville Town Council (BTC) voted to terminate Brookville Police Department (BPD) Chief Terry Mitchum and Lt. Ryan Geiser after a recommendation from the Brookville Safety Board.

The terminations stemmed from a highly controversial Motion to Suppress Hearing in July regarding evidence obtained leading to the arrests of Brookville residents Trevin Thalheimer and Garret Pierce, in which Lt. Geiser testified.

After direct and cross-examination of witnesses, Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Huerkamp joined the defense in the motion to suppress and further requested a dismissal of charges against Thalheimer and Pierce because of testimony alleging Mitchum and Geiser conspired to keep Thalheimer from pursuing a position on the BTC and inconsistencies in Geiser's testimony.

After the hearing, Huerkamp turned his findings over to the Indiana State Police (ISP) and immediately recused himself. Special Prosecutor A.J. Bryson of Union County was assigned to the case. Both officers were placed on administrative leave for the duration of the investigation.

Subsequently, Thalheimer announced his intention to pursue civil litigation against the BPD due to the testimonies during the suppression hearing.
When ISP completed the criminal investigation, the findings were returned to Bryson. On Oct. 20, Bryson's Charging Decision was filed in Franklin County Circuit Court, stating no criminal charges would be brought against Mitchum or Geiser.

Although no criminal charges were filed, the safety board's appointed Special Attorney, Tony Saunders, felt civil issues needed to be reviewed by the safety board.

"The failure to file criminal charges does not mean that there aren't still issues to be reviewed before one or both officers could be considered for reinstatement," Saunders stated.

Saunders recommended the safety board to allow him to investigate misconduct allegations against the two officers. Once Saunders completed his investigation, he recommended disciplinary actions be filed against both officers.

Throughout the proceedings, Mitchum and Geiser maintained their innocence and desire to return to work.

Saunders recommended three counts of disciplinary charges against Geiser and six against Mitchum. Charges in their entirety are listed at the end of the article.

The safety board voted to accept all charges against Geiser and Mitchum into the record and set an Administrative Disciplinary Hearing for both officers. The officers remained on paid leave during this time.

The Safety Board held the disciplinary hearing for Lt. Geiser on Dec. 20. On Dec. 29, the disciplinary hearing was held for Chief Mitchum. Charles Braun represented both officers.

Several witnesses called by the defense provided testimony supporting the credibility of both officers. Braun argued the charges against his clients were vague and unsubstantiated. Braun also stated he believed there were conflicts of interest with members of the safety board and the town council that could potentially affect the termination of his clients.

After weighing the evidence presented at the disciplinary hearing, the safety board found Geiser guilty of all three charges, and Mitchum was found guilty on the first four charges. Accordingly, counts five and six were dismissed. As a result, the safety board recommended the termination of Lt. Geiser and Chief Mitchum to the BTC.

The BTC ratified the safety board's decision to terminate Geiser and Mitchum Dec.31.

Disciplinary Charges
The three counts of disciplinary charges submitted by Saunders regarding officer Geiser while he was acting in an official capacity are as follows:
Count I: Evidence was uncovered Geiser engaged in conduct unbecoming of an officer. As a result, the Franklin County Prosecutor's office informed the BTC the prosecutor's office would not be proceeding with charges based on Geiser's investigative reports or affirmations that rely on his credibility until further notice.

Count II: Evidence was uncovered Geiser has engaged in immoral conduct wherein he was not honest and forthcoming with the Franklin County Circuit Court 2 in his testimony during a hearing on a motion to suppress on July 19, 2022, in the case of State of Indiana v. Garrett Pierce, and in fact, lied under oath when under examination by attorneys. Such acts directly affect his credibility and, combined with the refusal of the prosecutor to prosecute cases that Geiser investigates, renders him unfit and unable to discharge the duties of a BPD officer.

Count III: Evidence was uncovered Geiser engaged in immoral conduct unbecoming to an officer, wherein he ordered a subordinate officer to write an intentionally misleading report and contained false statements regarding the arrest on Jan. 28, 2022, of Thalheimer regardless of the subordinate officer's objection and belief the information was false and misleading. The officer complied with the orders of the superior officer despite his objection.
The six counts of disciplinary charges submitted by Saunders regarding officer Mitchum while he was acting in an official capacity are as follows:

Count I: Evidence was uncovered Mitchum has engaged in conduct unbecoming of an officer, immoral behavior, and or conduct detrimental to the public peace or welfare. On or about July 20, 2022, following the testimony by Geiser, Mitchum stated to Ward if the council did not back him, he would make the town council members' lives a living hell.

Count II: Evidence was uncovered Mitchum engaged in neglect of duty regarding the processing and handling evidence. Mitchum had not sent any evidence to the Indiana State Police (ISP) Lab since at least Dec. 1, 2021, and there is a backlog of evidence. In addition, Mitchum allowed an environment in the BPD to exist wherein the BPD had no access to the ISP lab reports for more than one month. Due to this neglect, the BPD only retrieved a DNA report for a few weeks.

Count III: Evidence was uncovered Mitchum engaged in neglect of duty regarding his duty to report all written discipline taken against officers under his command to the town board in writing within 48 hours as required by Ordinance #1-2009, which is the Standard Operating Procedures and Rules and Regulations of the BPD.

Count IV: Evidence was uncovered Mitchum neglected duty regarding his management of personnel, namely Geiser. Under Mitchum's command, Geiser engaged in a pattern of conduct that included lying under oath, making a warrantless felony arrest resulting in a tort claim against the town.

Count V: Evidence was uncovered Mitchum neglected duty regarding his personnel management, namely Geiser. Under Mitchum's command, Geiser engaged in a pattern of conduct that included lying under oath, which Mitchum did not report to the appropriate authorities as required by Section 7.02 (a) of Ordinance #1-2009.

County VI: Evidence was uncovered Mitchum engaged in unbecoming of an officer and immoral conduct. While serving as town chief in 2020, he did create a hostile work environment for an employee of the BPD.