He was terminated, and now he is suspended with pay. And that’s about all we know about Luther Police Department Sargeant Mike Oliver. The Town of Luther’s Facebook page posted the following notice Friday morning.
It was on November 15, 2017, that Sgt. Oliver confirmed that he was brought into the police department and terminated. He confirmed to The Luther Register that he was sent a certified letter received the following Monday saying that he was under investigation and would be suspended with pay.
Police Chief David Randall has been on the job just more than a month, and is a first-time police chief in Oklahoma and learning the ropes. He told The Luther Register that Oliver “has never lost pay since he was put on administrative leave. And he was notified that he is still on leave pending the investigation.”
“The investigation is under way and I will not comment on the particulars of it,” said Chief Randall.
Earlier this week, Oliver who has served as a Luther police officer for ten years, said he would fight for his job and characterized the allegations against him as “lies.”
No word on the nature of the “severity” or the timeframe of the investigation. In the meantime, Sgt. Oliver stays home and gets paid, and the police department is down an officer with over-time costs rising.
It is unclear what the next step is or whether the Town Appeals Board, named earlier this week to hear termination appeals of police officers (and others), will meet, presumably not while Oliver is under investigation.
There have been some cries from the public demanding to know the nature of the accusations against Oliver, and whether they affect public safety. Others say they will support the process.
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