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July 31, 2012 An open letter to the Citizens of Fortville, Indiana.

During the nearly three months I served as Marshal, it was my pleasure to meet some very amazing people in the Town of Fortville. From the Fort Grill to Seals Ambulance and from State Road 234 to the Madison County line, there are many people who care about each other and are working to make Fortville economically prosperous and a much better place to live. It is well known at this time I have resigned as the Town Marshal of Fortville, Indiana, and I would like to explain why. After the demotion of previous Chief of Police Ben Kiphart to patrolman in November of 2011, I was recruited to bring change to the Fortville Police Department. It was my understanding, there were many applications for the position of Marshal and I was by far the best candidate for the job. I am a graduate of Officer Candidate School and have led men and women as both a non-commissioned and commissioned officer in the US Army. As a civilian police officer I attained the ranks of Sergeant and Lieutenant and attended both the FBI National Academy and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Leadership Academy. I have supervised small units and entire patrol shifts handling officers with a wide variety of personnel and discipline problems. As a patrol officer I have been on the receiving end of discipline and as a supervisor for IPD, later IMPD, I have issued discipline on several occasions and recommended the termination of three officers in the 27 years I have been a supervisor. With 41 years of law enforcement experience, I decided it would be an excellent end of career accomplishment to assist a small Police Department with new direction and get them involved with the community they served. I understand in every agency there are officers who have problems and there are some who do not even need to be in the law enforcement profession. I have no problem firing an officer who cannot, or will not, do their job. While applying for this position as the Marshal of Fortville I was told there were officers who did not want to work and were problems, either writing to many tickets or not enough. There were allegations regarding the abuse of power and harassment by the officers, along with an attitude of arrogance. I received complaints the officers were constantly out of town and not protecting the citizens of Fortville. I was presented with an image of an out of control police department. It was readily apparent, as I looked around and assessed the Fortville Police Department, soon after my appointment, the officers were not the problem. This department is comprised of good young men who are extremely well trained and dedicated to the law enforcement profession. Of the eight men on the department, 4 are certified ILEA (Indiana Law Enforcement Academy) Instructors, 4 are members of the

Hancock County Joint Task (SWAT) Team, and 2 are Taser Instructors. One of the officers is a trained Hostage Negotiator. The classes they can train other officers in are Firearms Qualifications, (EVOC) Emergency Vehicle Operation and Control and until recently a Defensive Tactics instructor, (however, he was demoted and has decided not to continue as an instructor). Rarely do you find so much talent in a small Police Department like the one in Fortville. They have certainly had their shortcomings, with such things as little or no community involvement in the recent year, and everything they have done (or not done) has been criticized or vilified, they have continued to provide protection and service to the citizens of Fortville, Indiana. It has been my pleasure to work alongside them for the past three months, and whatever the future brings, I will always remember them as some of the most dedicated officers I have worked with. With the recent shooting of Officer Fox, one day after my official resignation, it has brought home the dedication these young men have for this town and the citizens in and around it. The respect they have earned from the other police officers in Hancock County was evident in the fact both Hancock County deputies and Greenfield City officers came to Fortville to patrol and allow the officers to debrief and retain a focus on their wounded brother. Until last Friday, these officers have not missed a single patrol shift uncovered for this Town. That means if one of the officers becomes ill, or has an emergency, another officer will volunteer to patrol this town taking the other officers shift so the citizens will have a police officer on their streets. Many times in Fortville, there is only one officer on duty because of vacations, mandatory state training and such. And now to the reasons for my decision to resign as the Town Marshal. 1. I believe the demotion of Ben Kiphart had little to do with his ability to lead the Fortville Police Department. I now think his public demotion was an orchestrated act to embarrass him and the department for enforcing common public safety laws such as drunk driving and driving while suspended. 2. During the past three months in nearly every meeting of the Town Board, I have heard discussions regarding chickens and goats along with how many one can have and where they can be kept. I have learned the discussions have been going on for nearly 7 years and sadly, I do not believe the end is in sight. I have asked the town board president on several occasions about plans for Fortville, either a 5 year plan, a 10 year plan or any plan whatsoever, for the growth of this town, and find there is none. On several occasions I have given a sample Town Vision Statement to the members of the Town Board for their comments and possible development of a specific vision for the Town of Fortville. At each instance the statement is taken and politely set aside with no further discussion. I firmly believe there is no desire from a majority of the Town

Board to create a plan for the future of this town. Without a plan for the next few years the Town board has become dysfunctional, and with the rise of the organizations like Fortville Action Inc., nearly irrelevant. 3. On occasion I have been approached by the spouse of council member attempting to create a deal in which he could purchase any of the police cars we might be decommissioning in the future. When I explained the vehicles must be, by law, sent to a public auction he continued saying, if could just see fit to sell them to him, we could make a good deal for each other. He then directed the conversation to the confiscated vehicles and wanted to purchase them. I then explained there was a contract by state law with a law firm to dispose of the vehicles by auction and divide the proceeds up between the State of Indiana and the Fortville Police Department. I finally had to tell the councilors husband it was a crime to continue to attempt to talk about committing a felony, and for him to stop asking. 4. The same councilor (whose husband wished to purchase town property was asked at a meeting her views on what was the greatest issue or problem which faced the Fortville Town Council outside of the Police Department. She stared and stated she had been caught at a disadvantage. I have never met a politician who did not have several problems in which they were readily versed in solving and would make sure they were eliminated if you give them just four more years. I pressed the issue wondering which of the hundreds of issues facing the Town of Fortville (infrastructure, budget, the creation of business friendly ordinances, a community center which is not used to its fullest potential, just to name a few) she would pick. I was stunned when she stated the greatest problem the Town of Fortville had was the other workers outside of the Police Department. 5. For the few weeks prior to my resignation I have been talking about getting a safety board in place so the Town Board would not have to concentrate on the Police Department. My resignation was by far not set in stone when in a meeting Councilor Manship offered a compromise of a Police Review Board and we agreed to talk about it in the next week. I immediately began to think we had made progress and we could work toward change. Before the meeting was adjourned, Mr. Stafford stated he was opposed to such a move as he had seen how boards could be stacked to have a predetermined outcome. Really, Mr. Stafford!! 6. Trust or in this case a great lack of it. While our town leaders have been giving their support for the officers to a few citizens in such places as the monthly Town Board meetings, their actions and private comments suggest a loathing for the officers serving this community. There are members of the town government who will not miss an opportunity to make comments or spread allegations about officers; no if they are true or not or how long ago the perceived act was committed. The comments are often filled

with vitriol and statements such as hypocrite and liar. This constant stirring of the pot damages the morale and effectiveness of the officers on the Fortville Police Department. The constant rehashing of old innuendos makes it impossible to change the culture between the officers and the citizens they serve. Information known only to the officers and the members of the Board ends up in the half truth and rumor blogs, posted by anonymous cowards and those who want to destroy rather than build up. The Town Board of Fortville, Indiana, certainly has the legal right to supervise me, however, with the actions its leadership has taken, and the things I have witnessed, it no longer has the moral or ethical right to lead me. That fact, in and of itself is sad, as I was very much enjoying the people in Fortville. I believe with the correct leadership, this town can be a growing and prosperous community full of vitality and spirit. For those of you who are concerned that I will be leaving forever, that is not the case. I have started the crime watch and the chaplaincy programs and I will see them through to completion. I have promised to have an 8 week Citizens Police Academy and sometime this fall or early spring next year the academy will take place. I look forward to retaining the friendships I gathered in Fortville, and will continue to work toward the public safety of all citizens in the town.

Donald A. Bender

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