New Miami police, fire crews off patrol after village loses insurance
By Amanda Seitz, Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The entire village was dropped from the plan this month, and village administrators have directed all employees to avoid using village-owned vehicles, including fire trucks and police cruisers, at work,
Cheek said the village is currently operating under a self-insurance plan. He was advised by village officials to operate his police department under a "don't drive unless you have to" policy since the village became self-insured earlier this month.
The mayor and attorney for the village couldn't immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Cheek said excessive lawsuits and insurance claims led to the village, which is home to more than 2,200 residents, being dropped from its insurer.
"The police department is not why this happened," Cheek said. "Trust me, the police department wasn't even one-fourth of the money that's been paid out."
Just last month a Butler County Common Pleas judge ordered the village to stop the use of its controversial speed cameras. The village has collected more than
One civil lawsuit claims Cheek and another officer working at the department,
The lawsuit was settled out of court in April of last year.
Another lawsuit, settled out of court in February -- just a month before the village lost its insurance coverage -- claimed Cheek and
Cheek called the lawsuits "frivolous" and said the village's insurance company made the decision to settle the lawsuits for "economical" reasons. He acknowledged that the lawsuits might have impacted the village's insurance coverage.
"I'm sure, in the long run, it has something to do with why our insurance was canceled," Cheek said of the lawsuits against him and the department.
But he also argued that other insurance claims and lawsuits against the village as a whole greatly impacted the village's ability to keep its insurance coverage. Cheek wouldn't elaborate on those claims, and the village itself doesn't have any other court cases that have resulted in payments or out-of-court settlements within the last decade, according to online county court records.
Cheek said he's been doing administrative work at the police department this week, but neither him nor the 22 volunteer officers who work for the department have responded to calls.
A Journal-News reporter tried to enter the
Dispatch records show the
"We were contacted by
Cheek denied that he contacted the sheriff's office. Cheek said he was on vacation last week and wasn't at the office to respond to calls, but he said he would be on the road again Friday morning to respond to calls.
She said rumors have swirled about the village's insurance situation in recent days.
"I don't think it's right, they should let people know," Garrison said of the changes in the village's insurance policy.
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