WARSAW — The reason for a lack of support by Warsaw City Council involving a cell phone proposal for police on  Feb. 19 appears to extend beyond just a change in policy.

InkfreeNews reached out to all seven city council members about the issue. Four responded, with several saying they believe council was reluctant to vote on the topic after Police Chief Scott Whitaker’s Jan. 25 handling of a reckless driver investigation became a point of contention.

The expected vote would have been the second and final for the proposal that would ensure police officers would be assigned work-related cell phones, replacing a past program in which the city provided officers with a stipend in exchange for them using their own phones while on duty. The previous policy, which has fallen out of favor with officers, required they sign an agreement allowing the city to access the phones in case a review was found necessary.

The first vote earlier in February sailed through council unanimously, but after some debate on Feb. 19, in which council members questioned the plan, a motion to approve “died” for a lack of a second to the motion, leaving the council incapable of even casting a vote.

What did not come up in the discussion was the lingering concern of Whitaker’s handling of a reckless driving investigation in which some contend Whitaker used too much force on a 74-year-old man who he suspected of being impaired while driving on the south side of the city.

A strange set of circumstances led Whitaker, who was off duty at the time, to misunderstand who was driving the vehicle. He trailed the vehicle until it parked on Chickadee Lane, off CR 200S, but was unable to see who exited the vehicle in the dark. He had called for back-up, but had a brief altercation with the man who came out of the house. Whitaker, thinking the man was impaired, believed he was getting into the car to leave. The man was attempting to pull the car in the garage.

The chief and other responding officers eventually determined the car was driven by the man’s wife who said afterward that she struggles with nighttime driving.

The crux of the dispute involved Whitaker grabbing the man by the shoulders from behind as the man attempted to get into the car. The man says the chief shoved him to the ground. Whitaker said the man’s legs gave out and that he maneuvered him to the car’s hood so he could place his hands on the hood until other officers arrived.

The Feb. 19 council meeting came less than a week after an Indiana State Police investigation concluded the circumstances did not merit consideration of criminal charges by the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office.

But less than two hours before the meeting, the issue gained traction after at least one council member saw a report on a South Bend news station that broadcast footage of a body camera from one of the responding officers in which the man claims Whitaker shoved him to the ground and Whitaker could be heard using a curse word while talking with the woman.

Several council members said the circumstances had created a cloud of concern and that they preferred not to vote on the cell phone request.

“I was not comfortable going forward with a vote,” said City Councilman Michael Klondaris. “I had just seen that report on ABC57.”

“I think we were all kind of stunned what was taking place behind the scenes,” he said.

Councilman Jack Wilhite shared Klondaris’ concerns. “There’s some things within the department that we need to work on with safety that’s just as important as the phones,” Wilhite said.

Nobody was arrested in the incident and the couple did not file a complaint over the handling of the incident.

Whitaker, in a news conference held Feb. 22, apologized more than once for the misunderstanding, but defended the way he talked with the woman and the amount of force used in the interaction with the man. 

Also at the news conference, Mayor Joe Thallemer defended Whitaker’s action, called it “unfortunate,” but added that Whitaker needed to react to the apparent intoxicated motorist for the sake of public safety.

However, the city also announced on Feb. 22 that two Warsaw police officers were placed on investigatory leave as officials looked deeper into the matter. Officials have not provided insights into the reason for the probe or the officers’ names.

Klondaris confirmed one of the officers contacted him and expressed concern over how the circumstances played out.

Klondaris is the 3rd District councilman and said he chose to look into the issue because it happened in his district. 

Klondaris and Wilhite then met with the couple to hear their side. Klondaris used his phone to record the discussion. The two councilmen, along with longtime local Republican leader Jean Northenor, met Thallemer the next day to tell him of the allegations. That meeting, he said, was the first Thallemer had heard about the incident.

That meeting quickly led to the ISP review.

Klondaris’s tape is now the subject of a freedom of information act request by a Facebook group, which contends Thallemer became heated and told them to stay out of the issue.

Klondaris disputes that claim made by the Facebook group, Warsaw Community.

“The mayor never said that. That’s an out-and-out lie,” Klondaris said.

More than one councilman said Whitaker used bad judgment and is fortunate the man was not carrying a gun.

“I like Scott as a person, but I think he made a mistake,” said Councilman Jerry Frush, adding that Whitaker should have waited for backup officers to arrive before approaching the man.

Whitaker said he was worried the man was getting in his car to leave. Earlier, as he followed the vehicle, Whitaker reported it nearly struck several vehicles and momentarily drove off the road.

“Scott’s probably lucky the guy didn’t have a gun in his hand and turned around and shot him for attacking him,” Frush said.

Councilman Ron Shoemaker, who is challenging Thallemer in the May primary race for mayor, declined comment, saying he did not want to politicize the situation.

After the vote failed to materialize, Thallemer was asked if the Whitaker incident might have been a factor in the council’s reluctance to vote. He said he was a “little surprised,” and directed questions to council members.

“I instructed the council president (Diane Quance) to find out what the concerns are and we’ll address those concerns and we’ll bring it up at the next council meeting,” Thallemer said.

Quance did not respond to messages left on her phone.