Former candidate for Perryville police chief fired amid fraud investigation

A man who tried to run for police chief last winter has been fired from the Perryville, Missouri, Police Department amid a Missouri State Highway Patrol investigation into an allegation of fraud.

In a news release Tuesday, chief Direk Hunt announced the Missouri State Highway Patrol was conducting a criminal investigation into a complaint against a Perryville police officer.

Hunt did not release the officer's name, but City Clerk Tracy Prost, responding to a sunshine request from the Southeast Missourian, confirmed Brad Pitts was the officer in question.

A complaint brought to the Perry County prosecuting attorney's office prompted the highway patrol's investigation, Hunt said in the release.

After learning of the allegation of "off-duty fraud," the department conducted its own investigation, which resulted in the officer's employment being terminated, Hunt wrote.

In a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon, Hunt said the internal investigation to determine whether the employee violated any personnel rules or regulations was separate from the highway patrol's investigation.

"Our investigation is completely separate," he said.

" ... Once we handle the personnel matter, we do not know what's going to happen with the other matter."

Hunt did not have the exact date the highway patrol contacted his department about the investigation, but he said it was sometime in the past two weeks.

Hunt did not release any other details, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

He called the situation "unfortunate."

Perryville elects a city marshal to serve as its police chief.

Pitts tried to run for the position, but he was disqualified in January after Prost discovered he owed the city about $32 in delinquent personal property taxes. He challenged his disqualification in Perry County Circuit Court, but lost.

Had he run and been elected, Pitts could have become the department's second chief in as many years to be accused of fraud.

Former Perryville police chief Keith Tarrillion resigned in April 2013 amid allegations of professional misconduct.

Hunt's announcement came just a day before Tarrillion was set to appear in court on criminal charges stemming from that investigation.

After the allegations against Tarrillion surfaced in February 2013, the city hired former Secret Service agent Paul Nenninger of Cape Girardeau to investigate them.

Nenninger's investigation turned up a 2010 report of property damage at Tarrillion's house, filed under another officer's name, which led to criminal charges.

Tarrillion was arrested Nov. 1 on charges of theft, forgery and making a false report. He received more than $5,000 from his insurance company after filing the property damage report, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing in January.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Gary Kamp dismissed the theft charge against Tarrillion but said there was "more than sufficient evidence" to establish probable cause on the forgery charge.

Hunt said there was no connection between Tarrillion's case and the charges against Pitts.

Tarrillion's departure last year prompted a referendum on the way the city chooses its police chief.

Because Perryville elects its police chief, the city could not fire Tarrillion. Instead, it entered into a memorandum of understanding with Tarrillion under which he resigned in exchange for receiving his full salary and benefits until the charges were filed against him.

Perryville voters in November overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure seeking to convert the chief's job from an elected to an appointed position.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Mayor Ken Baer -- who as a private citizen opposed the ballot measure -- said as chief, Hunt has the authority to fire police department employees.

Baer said he supports Hunt's decision and trusts him to act in the best interest of the people who elected him.

"They elected him with an overwhelming majority, and I think we have the confidence that he'll do what's best," he said.

Online court records show no criminal charges had been filed against Pitts as of Tuesday afternoon. Efforts to contact Pitts were unsuccessful.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

Perryville, Mo.