However, Stewart said the hope is to finish the process and have a course of action before the end of the year.

The Minot City Council had hired an outside investigator to look into allegations of hostile work environment, inconsistent discipline, lack of staff confidence in leadership, staff retention and morale issues and staff concerns of retaliation in the police department and Central Dispatch.

Klug, who was placed on temporary administrative leave in September, will remain on leave until a plan of action is determined, Stewart said.

“Some of the people that participated in the investigation had some concerns with regards to the potential accuracy of what they stated in the interviews, as it’s reflected in the report. So, this week, we’re working with the investigator to review those and correct anything that people feel is incorrect,” Stewart said. “There’s probably another iteration of the report coming out with those corrections, based off of the input of those that participated. Once all that is finalized, my team will begin to go in more depth in the report to identify what we need to respond to.”

Harold Stewart

The response could involve the city council, but that is unknown at this time, he said.

“Ultimately, the goal is to put the police department on a trajectory that it’s a place that employees enjoy working, that they feel heard and connected. That was one thing from the investigation that I have some concerns about,” Stewart said. “My priority and my motivation will be to put pieces in place that we can resolve those issues.”

Determining the pieces that need to be in place will be discussed over the coming weeks, he said.

“The goal is to get it resolved quickly but to make sure that we do it right,” Stewart said.

The findings related to the investigation involving Central Dispatch, which is under Klug’s supervision, also will be examined to determine areas that need to be addressed and how to address them, Stewart said.

He said the investigator is being retained until further due diligence is conducted but the work falls under the existing budget. The city council approved up to $100,000 for the investigation.

The goal is to wrap up the investigation and have a plan in place for improvements by the end of the year, but full resolution will take time, Stewart said.

“It’s going to take some time to correct these issues within the department, but having a course of action and some decisions on how we’re going to proceed, that I hope to have determined by the end of the year,” he said.

The investigative report and recommendations created a lengthy file that included numerous documents associated with interviews with present and former police and dispatch employees.

In an interview as part of the investigation, Klug admitted he dropped the ball on a department uniform policy but defended his actions in running the department, according to the report.

Klug has been with the Minot Police Department for nearly 30 years and has been chief since Feb. 1, 2020. The investigation developed over information that came to city council member Rob Fuller, including a letter of Vote of No Confidence regarding Klug from representatives of the local Fraternal Order of Police union.

The investigative report was critical of Klug for failing to follow through on his duties in certain areas, including communicating with the department and city manager, completing one-on-one meetings with officers, resolving the uniform/beard policy, issuing 2023 performance evaluations and establishing and maintaining relationships with patrol.

Klug indicated in a Nov. 1 interview with investigator Yvonne Heintzelman of the Clark Hill law firm in Chicago that he believed he had completed the one-on-one meetings with officers. However, on Nov. 8, he said he may have spoken to half of the officers. In a 2021 department email, he referenced the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic for his inability to be able to meet with everyone.

The investigator noted, as of mid-September of this year, all the one-on-ones had not been completed. It was an area of concern noted in the report.

“The Chief’s perspective negatively affects morale. Further, he cannot expect members of the Department to fulfill their job responsibilities if he does not fulfill his job duties or promises to the Department members,” Heintzelman wrote.

The investigation found no information to support allegations of hostile work environment or inconsistent discipline.