Police chief’s oversights result in paid leave
NDSU’s interim police chief Virgil Mueller was put on paid administrative leave more than three weeks ago because of two administrative violations.
Dave Wahlberg, university spokesman, said one violation involved two new police officers who hadn’t been sworn in by the Fargo Police Department, which would have given them jurisdiction to patrol outside of campus.
The second oversight dealt with Mueller’s failure to report campus crime statistics in the required time. The report is a federal requirement, Wahlberg said.
Mueller, who has been an NDSU police officer for 24 years, told The Forum the errors were “minor,” and he shouldn’t lose his job because of them.
“ I’ve never had performance issues raised in my entire career,” Mueller said. “I’m optimistic that the system in place will resolve these issues.”
Wahlberg said there are a number of outcomes that could result from the situation, and North Dakota University System policy will be followed to closely determine an outcome.
The policy does not stipulate a certain time that a decision must be reached, so information is currently being gathered to present to Mueller, Wahlberg said. Once the evidence is presented, Mueller will be given the chance to respond to it.
On Feb.1, the police department merged with the safety and environmental health department to form the Office of University Police and Safety.
The reorganization eliminated the position chief of police, so it is uncertain what capacity Mueller would return to, Wahlberg said.
Ray Boyer, the former associate director of operations for Facilities Management, was named director of the new department.
Boyer became Mueller’s supervisor and discovered the oversights shortly after the reorganization.
Combining the two departments has been discussed about for a number of years, Wahlberg said. The decision was finally made to combine the two to provide “greater efficiency and coordination under one entity,” Wahlberg said.
Brock Lietz, interim vice president for business and finance, said the type of public safety model is used more often at various universities and in communities.
“ The public safety model improves efficiency and coordination between all campus departments charged with protecting the safety of faculty, staff and students,” Lietz said.
William MacDonald, a former police supervisor at night, has filled the position of captain in Mueller’s absence and is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the police department.