City of Minot releases investigation report of its police chief

MINOT — The city of Minot has released findings of an investigative report centered on its chief of police amid claims that he created a hostile work environment, inconsistent discipline and problems with staff morale. Minot Police Chief John Klug was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-September while the matter was looked into by a third-party investigator, Clark Hill law firm of Chicago. ADVERTISEMENT Despite the release of information, no decisions have been made about any further action, a city email said, and Klug remains on administrative leave.

The investigation report was sent to Minot City Manager Harold Stewart from Yvette Heintzelman at Clark Hill on Nov. 20, just over two months after Klug was put on leave. The complaints were relayed by Minot Council Member Rob Fuller, who met with 13 current or former members of the police department and a few dispatchers.



Some had worked for Fuller at a local gun shop after leaving the police department on “unsatisfactory terms,” the report said. Some complaints dealt with how Klug handled discipline of an officer who lost track of heroin from a canine drug training kit, had a relationship with a domestic violence victim he met responding to a police call and who may have been involved with a female police cadet who was a minor, the report said. Klug investigated the missing heroin but said he did not terminate the officer because he couldn’t prove the officer took the drugs or lost them, and the officer was dealing with personal issues at the time, the report said.

The officer in question resigned in late October. ADVERTISEMENT The investigation found Klug did not err in his choice of discipline; however, he did not inform City Manager Stewart about any of the “potentially embarrassing information,” the report said. The investigation was also to determine whether there was a hostile work environment in the police department or dispatch center created by Klug or Margaret Haugan, the city public safety manager.

There was no information to support an allegation of a hostile work environment based upon a protected category, such as race, sex, age or other, the report said. The investigation also “cannot conclude that there is a failure of leadership” with Klug, the report said, but if he cannot change his leadership style, the leadership and morale problems will continue. The report cited the chief’s failure to hold one-on-one meetings with officers as promised, and a failure to address the department’s uniform policy relating to facial hair and tattoos.

Klug had stated it was a low priority, which the report said negatively affected morale. In her report, Heintzelman issued a list of more than two dozen recommendations, including that the city create a process requiring council members to bring personnel issues to the city manager for review, and that Klug improve communications with all staff. ADVERTISEMENT The report was also critical of Fuller, who it said undermined the "integrity and effectiveness of the City’s process.

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