Attorney General’s Office closes complaint against Sturgeon alderman
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has closed a complaint against a Sturgeon alderman.
Former Police Chief Greg Halderman filed the complaint March 9 against First Ward Alderman Tyler Patterson, claiming he copied a personnel file.
In a letter sent to the City of Sturgeon Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, Casey Lawrence with the Attorney General’s Office said the office inquired into the events and understood Patterson removed original records from city hall after obtaining the key to the filing cabinet from the city clerk. He then left city hall and was alerted that file should be returned. Patterson then returned to city hall within half an hour and made a copy of the original records.
The Missouri Sunshine Law states, “No person shall remove original public records from the office of a public governmental body or its custodian without written permission of the designated custodian.”
“In this instance it does not appear Mr. Patterson obtained written permission from the custodian before removing the original record,” Lawrence wrote.
The letter goes on to say, “In the future it would be helpful for the City of Sturgeon to review these policies with all elected officials and staff on a regular basis.”
On April 4, voters elected Heidi Ellington to replace Patterson as First Ward alderman.
A removal hearing was held in late March and the board of alderman voted to remove Halderman as the police chief. Halderman is planning to appeal his removal to the Missouri Supreme Court.
