Red Wing City Council votes to fire Police Chief Roger Pohlman

Brian Todd, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·5 min read

Feb. 20—RED WING — Citing elements of mistrust, defensiveness and a lack of leadership, the Red Wing City Council voted 6-1 to terminate the employment of Police Chief Roger Pohlman after a 75-minute closed session on Friday night.

But Pohlman still appears to have key supporters in the city, including state Rep. Barb Haley, a former city council member and other public officials.

After returning from the closed session, Council Member Dean Hove immediately made a motion to "provide the employee with a disciplinary letter." That motion was seconded by Council Member Evan Brown and was immediately passed 6-1, with Council Member Kim Beise voting no.

A copy of the letter was sent to the Post Bulletin. The letter starts off immediately with the termination of Pohlman, stating, "This letter serves as notice of the immediate termination of your at-will employment as a disciplinary action effective today, February 19, 2021. You have not met the Council's performance expectations."

The letter contained several reasons for Pohlman's termination. According to the letter, signed by City Council President Becky Norton:

"Pursuant to the City's evaluation process, the Council Administrator sought Council input on your performance. Several Council members responded that they did not trust you. This is a major concern for the City because of the importance of the Police Department's work. If the majority of the Council does not trust you, it cannot rely on you to perform the important work of the Department. Council members believe you have intentionally portrayed Council members as anti-police, when, in fact, their concerns were with your leadership and not with the performance of other members of the Police Department."

The letter listed several more reasons for the action:

—"The City Council is concerned that you do not support Council initiatives and have shown a lack of leadership in supporting the same." The letter gave an example concerning the Advisory Team, saying that Pohlman appointed members of the team without seeking Council input.

—The Council referred to defensiveness on the part of Pohlman when suggestions were provided, saying Pohlman was unreceptive to suggestions and feedback.

—Finally, several comments centered around communications and professionalism. The letter claimed citizens, staff and council members have all complained that Pohlman did not respond to emails and other communications in a timely manner, or that Pohlman sent emails that were unprofessional. An example was given that when a contract Pohlman supported was tabled at a city council meeting, Pohlman emailed members of the city council during the meeting to express his disappointment.

Pohlman was placed on paid administrative leave by the city pending an investigation into his conduct after another closed session — this one at the end of the Feb. 8 city council meeting — where the council met to discuss allegations against an employee. According to the agenda item from that meeting, the council's closed session was designed to "discuss the allegations and possible next steps" concerning "allegations against an employee."

Between the Feb. 8 meeting and Friday night, the city was left wondering why Pohlman was put on leave and what issues were being debated by the city council.

On Wednesday, State Rep. Barb Haley, R-Red Wing, sent a letter to the city council, Mayor Mike Wilson and City Administrator Kay Kuhlmann expressing concerns she had heard from residents regarding the lack of transparency when it came to whatever had triggered the investigation of Pohlman in the first place.

Haley wrote that while she respects that the city council has been elected to serve the citizens of Red Wing, "a number of citizens have contacted me with concerns about the lack of transparency by the City Council in both making this decision and the lack of clear explanation of why it was made."

She went on to write that after a week, answers were still not forthcoming, and, "The public deserves a functioning and well-run police department, something Chief Pohlman has delivered."

Haley went on to note that Pohlman was in frequent contact with her during the riots in Minneapolis last summer, and when protests came to Red Wing, Pohlman made it a point to reach out to groups and support their right to free speech while protecting people and property.

Former city council member John Becker, who administers a Facebook page called "Red Wing Convo," indicated part of a survey of police officers that was part of the Red Wing Police Department Wellness Plan might provide a clue. The survey was accepted by the city council on Nov. 23, 2020.

Becker pointed to question No. 8 in the survey, which read, "Do you believe morale has been damaged by city leadership and/or government?" The response to the question was 96.43 percent said yes, and 3.57 percent said no.

On the same Facebook page, Janie Farrar, who ran for mayor in 2020 and is a former Red Wing School Board member, posted a petition in support of Pohlman with a claim that 250 people had signed the letter by Friday morning, and that the letter would be delivered to council members and the mayor ahead of Friday evening's special meeting.

"A group of Red Wing residents has joined together to support Chief Pohlman and our law enforcement," Farrar wrote on Facebook. "This shows our concerns about public safety and government transparency."