BENTON CHIEF SAYS HE WAS DISMISSED FOR NOT TICKETING TRUCKERS

BENTON -- Benton's former police chief says he was fired this month apparently because he refused to single out tractor-trailer drivers for tickets.

"My belief on that is, you can't pinpoint one certain area of traffic and work that without working the others because the law fits all not just one certain party," said the former chief, Ray Hopper.

Hopper, 22, the police chief for 16 months, said a city alderman whom he declined to identify first told him May 14 that he was fired. Hopper said he had been fired two days earlier at a special meeting of the four-man Board of Aldermen.

Hopper said he was the town's only police officer. As yet, he said, the Scott County seat, with a population of 575, has not hired a replacement.

Hopper said his refusal to single out tractor-trailer drivers for tickets, as requested by the board, led to his being fired, but the mayor, Joe Stuckey, carries a grudge against him.

"Most of the citizens who have spoken to Joe in my behalf have told me that they felt that the mayor has it in for me," said Hopper.

"I will definitely state that I was treated unfairly in this incident," said Hopper. "The citizens in the city of Benton, the biggest majority support me and stand behind me in my being dismissed. I've had numerous citizens come to me since my dismissal and advise me they're going to miss me being in Benton."

Stuckey declined to comment on the matter. "I'm not going to get into a controversial matter and let it be blown out (of proportion)," the mayor told a reporter.

Alderman Howard Bollinger said Hopper didn't do his job and was dismissed because of it.

The board, he said, acted unanimously in letting Hopper go. The mayor did not vote, he said, because the mayor only votes to break a tie.

Neither would Alderman Rick Klipfel discuss the matter with a reporter.

Hopper said the board asked him to focus on pulling over trucks during the day because the board believed trucks posed a larger risk to the community than other vehicles. Hopper said he mostly worked afternoons and nights, when the town experiences most of its crime.

"They're wanting me to make an exception," said Hopper. "We do have a major traffic problem in the city, (but) all vehicles are contributing to the problem," he said.

He said he told the board that he would enforce the laws on all motorists rather than just truck drivers.

"That ended the conversation," he said. "They did not say, `If you don't, you're going to be fired.' They did not specify one way or the other on that," he said.

In addition to the traffic issue, Hopper said he was accused of allowing an 18-year-old to drive the city patrol car and of harassing a resident. Both accusations were made in phone calls to individual councilmen, he said.

Hopper denied that either incident occurred and said he can prove they didn't.

The 18-year-old was said to have been with his girlfriend on the day in question, said Hopper. As for harassment claim, Hopper said he had already gone home from work when that incident allegedly occurred.

Hopper said the harassment accusation involved a man whom he had given a verbal warning to for playing his car stereo too loud late at night. The man later accused him of pulling into his driveway and repeatedly honking the patrol car horn, said Hopper.

The aldermen did not look into those matters in depth, said Hopper. "They made their decisions based merely on hear-say," he stated.

Bollinger maintained that Hopper hadn't bothered to show up at the last two board meetings. Bollinger said that before the last meeting he personally invited Hopper to attend.

Hopper said he asked if he needed to be at the special meeting about the harassment accusation but was told it wouldn't be necessary. Instead, he was told the meeting would concern other matters, he said.

The city has advertised for a police chief, Bollinger said. As for police protection, he said the city is as well protected as before.

The Scott County Sheriff's Department is in Benton, he said. Also, he said Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell was to be contacted about having a deputy, when available, to patrol the city.

Hopper said he is unemployed aside from helping his father, who does grading work. Hopper said he had received police chief pay for the rest of the month.

As police chief, Hopper said he made a gross salary of $920 per month.