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Photos by Henry Frederick and video by Sera Frederick / Suspended Oak Hill police officer Mike Ihnken refutes Police Chief Diane Young's administrative charges and demand to the City Commission that he be "terminated" for being derelict in his duties. The commission gives him the benefit of the doubt at Monday's packed meeting and questions whether Young is the problem. See our exclusive post-meeting video interview with the officer.
OAK HILL -- On a 3-2 vote, the City Commission led by Mayor Darla Lauer rejected Police Chief Diane Young's recommendation that embattled officer Michael Ihnken be fired.
In an ironic twist, Vice Mayor Mary Lee Cook recommended Young, herself, be put on administrative leave, after the mayor said she had no confidence in the chief.
Police Officer Mike Ihnken's 20-year-old daughter breaks into tears after the 3-2 City Commission vote rejecting Young's request that her father be fired.
Media coverage was intense with three Orlando TV stations covering the meeting, including a crew from Central Florida News 13, shown here, along with print media.
Young told the commission that Ihnken, whom she had already knocked down in rank from sergeant to officer, showed a wanton disregard for his fellow officers, the department as a whole and the citizens of Oak Hill because as the department's training officer he failed to maintain his firearms certification and the department had to be shut down for 24 hours in favor of patrols by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office while the officers were certified by personnel from the outside agency.
Police Chief Diane Young, promoted a year ago despite admissions that she used cocaine heavily prior to becoming a cop, looks on in disbelief as a public meeting to consider ridding her six-member police force of a police officer she no longer wanted working for her had turned into a public inquisition calling into question her ability to lead the agency and even her possible removal from the job that pays her $39,500.
Her other claim was that Ihnken failed to have his driver's license updated to reflect a change of address. Ihnken professed innocence saying a computer glitch caused his certification to lapse and that the license issue was "nit-picking."
Ihnken not only got defensive, but went on the offensive, saying he could not work with Young even if the commission rejected Young's claims.
"I will not rest until Chief Young’s lies about me have been exposed for exactly what they are, and I will not rest until these sadistic allegations made against me for no reason other than to try to ruin my reputation and career have been righted," Ihnken said, adding the chief has created a "hostile work environment."
Young shook her head side to side at Ihnken's counter allegations against her as she stood in the back of the meeting room at the Oak Hill City Hall where emotions were high during the nearly two hours of accusations and counter accusations between Young and Ihnken.
The commission stopped short of suspending Young, who has been at the helm for a year now, instead agreeing to City Attorney Scott Simpson's suggestion that it someone experienced in law enforcement, perhaps a retired police chief, to review the protocol and other outlined police department policies and procedures to determine whether Young has followed them or not.
Mayor Lauer and Vice Mayor Cook were supported in their rejection of the chief's request to terminate Ihnken by the vote of new Commissioner Ron Engele, giving the mayor a 3-2 majority with Commissioners Kathy Bittle and Linda Hyatt dissenting.
After the meeting attended by about 65 people, most of them clapping in support of Ihnken, Young said she was taken aback by the mayor's request that she step down willingly. "I'll have to think about that," Young said, her eyes welling up. "We've worked so hard."
Vice Mayor Mary Lee Cook, shown at far left, and Mayor Darla Lauer, outline their case for possibly removing Police Chief Diane Young, whose promotion to chief a year ago they opposed.
In a separate allegation against Ihnken, the State Attorney's Office recently ruled "probable cause exists" that he committed a crime by taking required online tests for fellow officers and affixing their names. However, the State Attorney investigation report concluded there wasn't sufficient evidence to successfully prosecute it in a court of law.
There were several other allegations the investigative report concluded were unfounded because of "he-said-she said" allegations.
Lauer at one point in the meeting said she was livid her name was dragged into that report and that based on what she witnessed during the meeting reiterated her initial vote not to make Young the permanent chief in the first place when then-Chief Guy Grasso could not return because of an injury to his neck.
The State Attorney's Office recently closed its criminal investigation into allegations Ihnken had taken online tests with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a story that NSBNEWS.net broke with the full investigative report on Wednesday and picked up the following day by print media and TV news stations.