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Topic: No police accountability in Thetford Twp.

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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Thetford Township officials may face recall over military surplus spat
Updated Dec 24, 5:34 AM; Posted Dec 24, 5:31 AM

By Dominic Adams dadams5@mlive.com
THETFORD TWP, MI - Two township officials may face a recall election because they raised concerns over a program that brings surplus military equipment to the police department.

While township Trustee Stan Piechnik and Supervisor Gary Stevens both previously said they want to know exactly what military equipment the police department has and where the it is stored, one resident says he hopes they're both booted from office because of the rift.

"We're going to recall them," Eugene Lehr said of Piechnik and Stevens. "The chief has done nothing wrong and I've done nothing wrong." Lehr has stored some of the military gear on his property at the request of the police department.

There will be a hearing Dec. 27 to consider recall language for Piechnik and Stevens, according to Genesee County Clerk-Register John Gleason.

At the center of it all is program that has been used by Thetford Township police Chief Robert Kenny since 2008 to bring used military equipment to local municipalities at no cost.



Records obtained by MLive in 2015 show the Thetford Township Police Department has obtained 450 items through the program at a value of more than $1.1 million dollars. Some of the items include four mine detecting sets, two rugged terrain forklifts and two trailer-mounted hydroseeders.


The Department of Defense turns over the property to local law enforcement agencies after it's determined the items might otherwise be destroyed because they were held as part of reserve stock and are no longer needed, according to the federal Defense Logistics Agency, which oversees the program.

Thetford Township police have obtained nearly 2,000 items through the program, according to information obtained in a Freedom of Information Act Request by MLive-The Flint Journal.


Some of the gear includes 1,000 "kitchen items" that have already been consumed, mine-detecting sets, rugged-terrain forklifts, hydroseeders and musical instruments.

While some of the items are stored on Thetford Township property, according to the documents, others are stored on private property and businesses throughout Genesee County.

Records obtained by MLive in 2015 from the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency show the Thetford Township Police Department has obtained 450 items through the program at a value of more than $1.1 million.

More than 8,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide have enrolled in the program, according to the agency. Items distributed to local departments range from clothes and office supplies to vehicles, rifles and other small arms.

Piechnik has claimed the township board hasn't gotten details on what specific items Thetford Township has and where the equipment is being stored.

"We're not sure because we really have not seen a complete inventory," he said. "We're really not getting much information about what's happened. There's never been a policy of how to manage it or anything."

More than 20 items are stored at Lehr's property.

He showed two of the generators Thetford police received to MLive-The Flint Journal. They're stored in his barn under a large tarp.


One a has personal watercraft sitting on top of it.

Another has a pallet with a transfer casing sitting on top of it and a label on the side said the U.S. paid $26,705.20.

Neither of the diesel generators appear to be in working order.

"They're not going to give good stuff away - they'll sell it," Lehr said, adding that the value of the items stored on his property is between $600 to $800. "I own all my own stuff. There ain't a damn thing I got from the military."

Piechnik said auditors told the township it needs to list the items as assets and provide an inventory.

When Piechnik couldn't get answers to questions he said auditors raised, he took his case to Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell.

Pickell confirmed earlier this month his office's investigation into Thetford Township centers around the police department getting equipment from the Law Enforcement Support Office.

"That organization sent an email to the township board informing them this is an investigation going on and directing them not to dispose of any equipment given to Thetford Township from LESO," Pickell said. "It's an ongoing investigation. There's just so much involved in it."

Pickell would not provide specific details about what his office is looking for.


Law enforcement agencies can dispose of the property as they wish after it is demilitarized, according to Larry Goerge who oversees the LESO program in Michigan.

That happens for a majority of items after a year, Goerge said, although certain items such as armored vehicles, weapons, aircraft and equipment with sensitive material like night vision googles are never demilitarized.

Items that aren't demilitarized or things a department can't use should be returned, Goerge said.

"They're encouraged to return stuff that they have no use for in a timely manner, but there is no set standard for that," Goerge said.

Agencies that don't follow the rules of the program could get suspended or removed from it.

Goerge said he has not had any problems or complaints from Thetford Township prior to Piechnik and Stevens.

"There's been allegations with the department for misuse of the program," he said. "It's currently being looked at by the county sheriff's department. Once they report the findings to me, LESO will make a determination on what type of penalties, if any, they will put in place."

A majority of the items collected over the years are listed as "off-site," according to documents obtained by MLive-The Flint Journal earlier this month.


Those items are stored inside a semitrailer at Saginaw and Dodge roads.

Other items are stored at Mike Walther's property in Montrose, Great Northern Transportation or Louie's Towing.

All have explanations and are allowed under the LESO program, Kenny said.

"It's basically trade for service," Kenny said. "Great Northern was doing some of the trucking for us. If it was inoperable or was going to cost more money for us to fix than it was worth - it was offered to them if they could fix it."

That includes items such as a scoop-type loader, rough terrain forklift, a transport trailer and a K-9 container.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach Great Northern for comment.

"I believe it's a worthwhile program for any department to belong to, but that is at the total discretion of the township board," Kenny said. "It's just a shame that two of my board members have turned a mole hill into a mountain simply just because they don't understand how the program works and neither of them want to come and talk to me."

There are more than 20 items listed as being stored at Walther's property. The equipment includes a utility truck, recovery trailer, wheeled tractors, flatbed trailer, passenger motor, utility truck, gas engines, a floodlight set, a riding lawnmower, vehicle loading ramp and trailer chassis.


"We've never charged them anything for storage," Walther said. "We did that as a favor for the police department."

He said he may have gotten a spare part here or there from the equipment, but it was mainly junk.

"It's very, very rare that any of (it has) run," he said. "We've never really used any of it."

For example, Walther said, a drop-deck trailer on Lehr's property has been used one time to move some concrete blocks.

"You really couldn't put nothing on the back - the bucket would sit too high on it - you would hit an overpass," Walther said. "It's kind of useless."

Piechnik said Thetford's board is not informed and information about the surplus equipment is not being shared in an open and transparent manner.

"Some of this stuff could be anywhere," he said.
Post Mon Dec 25, 2017 12:41 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Critics and the auditor are correct about the need to keep an inventory.
of City owned property. The Police Chief is not above the rules. Also the Township should have rules on procurement and disposal of property, functional or not.
Post Mon Dec 25, 2017 12:44 pm 
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