Keota Council Meets With Sheriff Candidate

KEOTA – During the May 20 meeting of the Keota City Council, the council spoke to Keokuk County Sheriff Candidate Adam Clark. Clark explained that he grew up in Keokuk County, graduated from Sigourney, and served two tours in the U.S. Marine Corps. He worked for the Ottumwa police department, as the Assistant Chief of the Sigourney police department, and has been a Keokuk County Sheriff’s Deputy for the past ten years, where he runs the canine unit. Clark is also a member of the Sigourney City Council, Sigourney School Board, and president of Sigourney Baseball and Softball. He stated that he would leave the Sigourney City Council and School Board if elected sheriff, because he doesn’t want to be concentrated so heavily in Sigourney.

“I don’t get to see a lot of you guys, because a lot of the time that I work, I work nights,” said Clark. “I work overnights and I like working overnights, because that’s when the criminals are out. That’s what I’ve geared my law enforcement career towards, is leaving decent folks alone and going after the menaces of society, and one of that is drugs. Drugs have been a huge thing for me, hence why I’m in charge of the canine unit for the county. I feel that a lot of the other crimes in our community stem from drugs. You get burglaries, you get thefts, you get assaults, stuff like that. Anybody that comes in front of you and says that they will stop all drugs in the county, they’re lying to you. You’re never going to stop it all, but you’ve gotta keep going after them, because if you don’t go after them, then it starts getting out of hand.”

Clark claimed that the current sheriff, Casey Hinnah, is not using the department’s budget properly and that there is enough money to hire a sixth deputy, but Hinnah refuses to, something he said hurts both the department and residents of the county. Clark stated that new cops rarely want to work without a partner, due to the “black eye” in the public and the news and because, according to Clark, criminals are completely different now and more dangerous.

Clark stated he plans to create a shared school resource officer position working at the Sigourney, Tri-County, and Keota schools. He explained that the resource officer would provide security and a positive law enforcement interaction for students. Clark stated he didn’t want kids to be scared of cops, because that can lead to police stops turning dangerous, and that it was important to break the idea that cops are bad. He stated that the mass shooting at Perry, Iowa had taught everyone that tragedies can happen in Iowa and that schools must prepare for shootings. Clark stated that schools would receive $32,000 per year from the state in sharing dollars for the school resource officer, helping to pay their salary, and that the officer would work as a normal deputy during the summer, which is when things are the most busy for the department.

Clark stated that the Sheriff needs to be present at government meetings and available to talk to people, so they know the problems in the county, and that that isn’t happening right now. He stated that sheriff’s deputies do not currently have leadership. He stated that the sheriff’s department does not respond to legal questions from cities, forcing them to pay attorney fees.

Clark stated that, according to Iowa law, all incorporated cities need to either have their own police department or a 28e agreement with the Sheriff’s Department. Clark claimed that none of the cities in Keokuk County have 28e agreements. He claimed that four different cities had reached out to the department about wanting to be in compliance, but that their requests had “fallen on deaf ears,” something he called “a slap in the face.”

Councilman Heath McDonald asked for Clark to clarify what a 28e agreement with the department would entail. Clark stated that cities would decide how much law enforcement presence they wanted and how much they were willing to pay for it. He claimed that the Keokuk County Board of Supervisors would be willing to help cities pay for law enforcement costs. He claimed that one supervisor had talked to Sheriff Hinnah about this and that, again, the conversation “fell on deaf ears.” Clark claimed that Washington County has so many deputies because they have 28e agreements with cities, which save money and liability costs. Councilman Curt Burroughs asked why the current sheriff seemingly had no interest in making cities compliant. Clark stated that he did not know and had been talking to Hinnah about this issue for years.

Councilman Keith Conrad noted that no city in the county can afford their own police department and asked how many police hours are needed per town. Clark stated he plans to talk with cities and mutually agree about how much coverage they can afford. Conrad asked how long the current response time was for the sheriff’s department. Clark stated that it depends on the situation and that the department prioritizes calls. He stated that he will often talk to people over the phone to try and help with their problem as he is driving to or from another emergency. Clark stated that, currently, deputies do not show up to some calls, which causes people to lose trust in the department. Mayor Tony Cansler stated that, on several occasions, he had called the sheriff to discuss things, been told Hinnah was too busy to talk and that he would call back later, then never received another call.

The Republican Primary, which will decide if Clark or incumbent Casey Hinnah will be the party’s nominee, will be held on June 4. There is no Democrat candidate running for sheriff in Keokuk County. Clark asked people to vote in the primary, noting that the few people who do vote decide the election for everyone.

Also at the Monday meeting, the council discussed security for the upcoming Keota Fun Days. City Administrator Alycia Horras stated that the city had been overstaffed last year. Bender agreed with this, saying the city had paid a hefty fee for security and that Washington County deputies cost too much per hour. He stated that requests for Keokuk County deputies had been ignored and asked Clark if the city could pay Keokuk County deputies for security. Clark stated the city might not be able to, explaining that in past years the hired security officers had worked under the Keota Police Chief, a position that is currently vacant. Clark stated that the city would need a formal agreement with the sheriff’s department and recommended the council speak with their lawyer.

Conrad asked how many cops would be needed. Horras stated the city would probably need two officers to work Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Clark suggested hiring the Sigourney police chief and requesting that the Keokuk County deputy working that night also provide coverage. Bender stated he would speak with the Sigourney and Keokuk County departments.

The council also discussed hiring a part time police officer. Burroughs stated that several qualified candidates had talked to the city and floated the idea of interviewing them, then hiring them for a six month trial period. Afterward, the city will be able to either keep the officer or get rid of them due to changes in the sheriff’s department. Conrad stated that the city still needs to iron out details like hours, pay and coverage for the officer and recommended the subject be tabled. Bender stated that he was okay with doing an interview, but that the council needed to discuss what they wanted before hiring anyone. The subject was tabled, with the Public Safety Committee told to meet and discuss things before the next council meeting.

The council revised several nuisance ordinances. Burroughs explained that the old mowing ordinances had no listed time frame for appeals for overgrown lawns; now, residents will have five business days after receiving a letter from the city to request a hearing, after which the city will have seven days to respond. The updated ordinances also added that no person will be allowed to interfere with the mayor, city employee, or city contractor carrying out the abatement. After the hearing, residents will have 30 days to pay the cost of the mowing or agree to a payment plan; otherwise, the city will add the cost to the resident’s taxes. The council also revised property ordinances to remove contradictions in several sections.