Seymour’s chief of police asked the city board of public safety and works Thursday morning to place former Chief Bill Abbott and Capt. Carl Lamb on unpaid administrative leave.
Abbott and Lamb were arrested Wednesday by state police on charges of ghost employment, official misconduct and theft after a four-month investigation by the Indiana State Police. The officers have been on paid administrative leave since the start of that investigation in October 2019.
During Thursday’s board meeting at city hall, Police Chief Bryant Lucas recommended the board place Abbott and Lamb on unpaid administrative leave.
The board can only act on that recommendation during a public meeting, not during an executive session. A public meeting to discuss that recommendation has been set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at city hall.
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It also was announced during Thursday’s meeting that Lamb had submitted the paperwork for his retirement and was making it official at 11 a.m. Friday. That decision also requires board of works approval.
It was further announced Friday the department planned to conduct an administrative investigation in the wake of the arrests.
The charges, all Level 6 felonies, stem from a review of an Indiana State Police investigation by Special Prosecutor C. Michael Steiner of Bedford, according to a news release from Sgt. Stephen Wheeles with the state police post at Versailles.
The original investigation was sparked by an anonymous letter sent to Jackson County Prosecutor Jeff Chalfant from a Seymour police officer.
The letter alleged Lamb had been receiving money to conduct scheduling to provide security for the Interstate 65 construction project while he was on duty with the police department, according to the probable cause affidavit signed by Detective Andrew Mitchell. The work was for K-4 Security, a Jeffersonville firm that had the contract to provide security for the construction project.
The letter stated Lamb also used the department’s emergency notification program to send officers text messages about the construction detail while on duty with the department, and he asked officers to communicate with him through his department-issued cellphone about the work detail.
Abbott became a target of the investigation because he allegedly knew about Lamb’s activities and failed to report them or take any action against Lamb.
During the investigation, detectives also were able to determine Abbott was employed by Schneck Medical Center to schedule off-duty officers to provide security at the Seymour hospital, according to court documents.
That investigation indicated Abbott allegedly performed his duties for Schneck while also working in his official capacity with the police department.
Abbott received $7,920 from Schneck for scheduling off duty while he also was on duty in his official capacity with the Seymour Police Department.
Lamb also was a part-owner and employee of a Seymour company, B-Safe Tactical Training, which provides training to area schools, churches and businesses. Investigators were able to determine Lamb received payment from that company while he also was on duty in his capacity with the police department.
Officer Jeremy Helmsing, a public information officer with the Seymour Police Department, said the department is looking for a fresh start under Lucas, who took over Jan. 1.
He said Lucas is big in transparency and is working to get information about the department’s activities in a variety of ways.
Helmsing said officers are willing to listen to the concerns from anyone, either anonymously or by just talking to an officer.
“We have several outreach meetings planned,” he said.
Those meetings will be with various groups in the community and are just another way to give the public greater access to the department.
“One of the biggest things is our policies are being reviewed from top to bottom,” Helmsing said.
The idea is to make the department better in every way possible.
A lot of those policies have not been updated in a while, Helmsing said.
