Kulpmont cops back on the beat [The News-Item, Shamokin, Pa.]

July 20--KULPMONT -- The mayor announced Friday afternoon that the police department is going back in service after a two-day shutdown.

Myron Turlis told The News-Item at approximately 4:15 p.m. that an agreement with a "high-risk" insurance carrier had been reached. With that, "we should have officers on the street this (Friday) evening," he said.

Turlis said Kulpmont will be paying a "significantly higher" premium than the $1,500 originally budgeted. He said he cannot say how much more because it relates to a "personnel issue" expected to be settled at an executive session of council planned for Tuesday.

"The amount of the premium is dependent on how the personnel issue goes," Turlis said. "If it goes one way, it's a lower amount than if it goes the other way. Either way, the price of our coverage is going up."

Turlis could not comment on which employees would be discussed at the executive session.

'High risk'

The department was placed out of service at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Chief Richard Wilson III, the department's only full-time officer, said later that day it was because of an "insurance issue," which was not defined at that time.

Turlis and Council President Bruno Varano said Friday the borough's insurance broker, Gannon Insurance Agency, informed them on April 1 the previous carrier of the police department's liability insurance was terminating their police policy on July 17 -- the day police operations were suspended. The agency said it was looking for another insurance carrier, but it was having a difficult time because the department was given a "high risk" designation.

"When we learned of the policy being canceled, we worked for three months to find another carrier," Turlis said.

That didn't happen until Friday, he said.

Related to lawsuit?

Turlis and Varano wouldn't give specifics Friday, but the insurance problems may relate to a civil rights lawsuit brought against the borough and Wilson over the treatment of a female the chief took into custody in 2011. The suit was recently settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Testimony during a hearing in the criminal case in March 2012 brought to light several past employment problems for Wilson, who was suspended for 47 days from the Kulpmont force in 2009 over what he said was political retaliation.

Council met in executive session for two hours Wednesday night, with about half of that session conducted with Wilson and officers from the chief's employment union. Councilmembers and solicitor William Cole wouldn't provide any details. They said state police would be available to answer calls and patrol the borough in the local officers' absence.

Wilson is assisted by several part-time officers. Kulpmont has nearly 24-hour coverage with borough officers, and state police covers off-hours.

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