When Elizabeth Police Chief Melvin Berghahn abruptly resigned from his job on Dec. 1, 2022, it was after Town Administrator Patrick Davidson placed him on paid leave and set out to terminate his employment over allegations of unseemly “roughhousing,” an “irretrievably broken” relationship with the Elbert County sheriff, morale issues and the presentation of a previous chief’s badge in a “shadow box” to celebrate his separation from town employment, documents released by the town on March 13 show.
In a “Notice of Intent to Terminate your Employment and Seek Non-Reappointment by the Board of Trustees” addressed to Berghahn and dated Dec. 1, 2022, Elizabeth Town Administrator Patrick Davidson gave specific reasons for his decision to begin the process to terminate Berghahn’s employment. Berghahn resigned and was not fired.
Davidson wrote that as a result of the abrupt and unexpected resignation of Sgt. Kurt Hulce, he conducted an exit interview in which Hulce was reluctant to speak frankly. By that time, Hulce was a 21-year veteran of the department.
Hulce’s exit interview brought up a number of concerns for Davidson.
“While I have not conducted any formal investigation following Sgt. Hulce’s exit interview, I have taken steps to confirm much of what I learned in the exit interview, including from sources both inside and outside of the department,” Davidson wrote.
“In sum, I have learned that morale in the Elizabeth Police Department is, and has been, deteriorating quickly. The deterioration is caused by the rigid command structure that you have instilled within the department, knowing that younger officers and employees are not responsive to fear and intimidation in the work environment. In my capacity as the town administrator, I am unwilling to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the town take the risk of keeping you as chief of police when considering the morale of the department, and the other issues described below,” he continued.
According to the four-page notice, the other issues include “roughhousing that involved on more than one occasion hitting Sgt. Hulce with objects in the groin area,” an “irretrievably broken” relationship with the county sheriff, and a “Shadow Box” for former Police Chief Stephen Hasler’s badge provided to Town Trustee Ron Weaver as a trophy to celebrate Hasler’s separation from town employment.
In regards to “roughhousing”, Davidson said “the nature and extent” was a problem, “particularly when it appears that much of your “roughhousing” is directed to Sgt. Hulce” and included witnesses. Davidson continued that he found “this to be a demeaning way of supervising your employees, and such action from the chief of police is unacceptable.”
Davidson said that the Board of Trustees desired to build a strong relationship with Elbert County including the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office. Davidson wrote that Berghahn’s most “recent comments on the matter indicate that you are unwilling to work with the sheriff’s department in any manner, and that the Town of Elizabeth should be prepared to ‘go it alone’. This impacts the quality of law enforcement for the residents and citizens of the town of Elizabeth and could call into question the safety for officers in both departments.”
Davidson immediately placed Berghahn on administrative leave with pay until a final decision regarding Berghahn’s employment was made. Berghahn had the right to respond to the notice of intent in writing by Dec. 9, 2022.
Berghahn said publicly at the time of his resignation that he was leaving to pursue other opportunities, get married, and focus his attention on his family.
The town released a statement at the time of Berghahn’s resignation, saying: “The mayor and Board of Trustees for the town of Elizabeth want to announce the resignation of Melvin Berghahn as the chief of police. Melvin began his service with the town of Elizabeth in 2015, and has held the positions of sergeant, commander, and chief. In these roles, he was instrumental in the creation and development of the Student Police Academy, bike patrols, and the growth and development of the department. His willingness to help the youth and elderly in the community, both inside and outside of his official duties, was remarkable. The mayor and the Board of Trustees wish to thank him for his years of service, his dedication to the community, and wish him the best in the future.”
Berghahn was sworn in as chief of police on January 15, 2021 and had worked previously as an Elizabeth Police Department sergeant since 2015 before being promoted to commander in 2018.
Elbert County News previously reported on Feb. 5 that his abrupt resignation led to a court fight between the Town of Elizabeth and a 9News investigative producer.
That article reads, in part, “Eight months after Berghahn resigned, 9News producer Aaron Adelson filed an open-records request asking Elizabeth Town Clerk Michelle Oeser to provide Berghahn’s job application, any disciplinary history and associated documents, and his termination/resignation letter.
“Oeser provided a redacted copy of the job application, but withheld the other requested documents on the grounds that they were part of Berghahn’s personnel file and that disclosing them would violate his privacy under court interpretations of state law.”
After some legal back and forth to determine if the requested documents could be released in good faith, a judge’s order prompted the release of the remaining documents on March 13. The Elbert County News had requested the same documents as 9News.
Berghahn’s resignation was the subject of an agreement with the town in which neither party admitted to “any impropriety, wrongdoing, or liability of any kind whatsoever.”
Attempts to contact Davidson and Hulce for comment were not immediately successful, and no contact information could be found for Berghahn.