Former Bedford police captain Morgan Lee pleads guilty to two misdemeanors

Lance Gideon, The Times-Mail
·2 min read
2

A former Bedford police officer accused of roughing up a citizen pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors Tuesday morning in Lawrence County Superior Court I.

Morgan Lee, 46, of Bedford, pleaded guilty to a charge of official misconduct, a class A misdemeanor, as well as battery, a class B misdemeanor. A Level 6 felony charge of strangulation against Lee was dismissed.

More:Celebrating 75 years: Persimmon Festival bigger than ever.

On Jan. 8, 2021, Lee responded to a domestic disturbance call that escalated to pushing and yelling, according to video footage viewed by Indiana State Police Detective Brock Werne. At the time, Lee was serving as a captain on the force.

In a probable cause affidavit filed by Werne on March 3, the detective wrote security camera footage captured Lee lunging toward the man who filed the complaint against the former officer. Werne also viewed Lee's body camera footage in which the officer is heard warning the man he would "end up on the wrong side of this."

The man was not wanted on criminal charges. Lee's body camera footage ended with Lee yelling at the man and then lunging at him, Werne reported.

Background

During a May 18, 2021 meeting of the Bedford Board of Works, Lee was awarded a medal and special commendation from the American Police Hall of Fame after the former police officer de-escalated a dangerous situation in the 800 block of Seventh Street in April of that year.

In late June 2021, the city placed Lee on paid administrative as it conducted an internal investigation into the complaint filed June 8, 2021.

Local news:City seeks grant to refurbish Welcome to Bedford sign, bring Land of Limestone downtown.

The Bedford Board of Public Works and Safety had set a hearing in the matter to discuss Lee's status with the department on July 30, 2021; however Lee had submitted his letter of resignation the day before.

At that meeting, the board accepted Lee's resignation from BPD.

An internal review committee suggested Lee be terminated after it found he had violated several department policies.

Lee was sentenced to 365 days in jail, with one day credit given and 363 days suspended.

The sentence for the two counts will be served concurrently, according to online court records.

Bloomington-based attorney Christopher Gaal served as the special prosecutor in the case.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Former Bedford Police Officer Morgan Lee pleads guilty to misdemeanors