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Amid controversy, Belleair chief resigns

An officer had accused the chief of secretly taping an interview with her. In an unrelated move, two other officers are asked to leave.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published March 28, 2006

BELLEAIR - Belleair police Chief Erv Hill, who was accused of secretly taping an interview with one of his officers, resigned Friday at the urging of Town Manager Steve Cottrell.

The conflict between Hill and Officer Terri L. Pettay, which led to an unusual sealed court case, was one of the reasons Hill was asked to resign, Cottrell said Monday.

"I wanted to put all of that behind us and minimize whatever problem that would have created for (Hill) in the future," Cottrell said.

Hill, 55, who was paid about $55,000 annually, said he was shocked he was asked to leave.

"I thought I'd be retiring there," Hill said. "It's one of those things. It's politics. Sometimes you're a good fit and sometimes you're not."

In an unrelated move, the department's second-in-command and the agency's police administrative supervisor also were asked to leave. Because of the departures, the Largo Police Department will temporarily run the Belleair Police Department while the town searches for new leadership.

Hill's departure came less than two weeks after the St. Petersburg Times reported about the existence of the tape and the lawsuit it generated.

In the suit, Pettay, who still works for the town, contended that Hill secretly and illegally tape-recorded one of their conversations in September 2005. Hill did so after Pettay told Cottrell that Hill had violated internal policies, the suit said.

Hill then took the tape to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and asked sheriff's officials to conduct an internal investigation of Pettay. The chief asked the Sheriff's Office to investigate whether Pettay had been untruthful.

When Pettay learned of the tape's existence, she went to court to say Hill made it illegally. She also demanded that she not have to answer questions about the tape until she had a chance to review it.

Because the tape was part of an internal affairs case, which is exempt from public disclosure during an investigation, Pettay asked Circuit Judge Walt Logan to take the unusual step of sealing the civil lawsuit from public view.

Logan agreed, and the case was not opened to public view until this month, after the Times went to court to challenge the sealing.

Monday, Pettay's attorney, Kenneth Afienko, and Cottrell both said a settlement had been reached and allegations against Pettay were dismissed. Sheriff's Office spokesman Mac McMullen said the sheriff's internal affairs case is ongoing.

Hill is not the only high-ranking member asked to leave the Belleair Police Department, which has 11 full-time officers.

The agency's second-in-command, Lt. David Keefe, who was hired on a standard six-month probationary status, was also asked to leave March 20. Keefe's resignation was not related to the situation with Pettay, Cottrell said.

Hill said Keefe was asked to resign because of job performance issues. But Hill said he did not know why police administrative supervisor JoAnne Fishback, 64, who resigned Friday, was also asked to leave.

"She was an asset to the department," Hill said. "She never had a (disciplinary) write-up since she's been there. It doesn't look good. It doesn't seem right."

After Keefe left the department last week, he wrote a seven-page letter to Cottrell accusing Hill, Fishback and others in the department of improprieties.

In his letter, Keefe said Fishback mimicked the town manager and made "scathing comments" about him. Keefe also said she thought Cottrell was rude and did not deal well with women.

Fishback acknowledges she made fun of the town manager and wasn't a fan of his personality.

Cottrell wouldn't comment on Fishback's resignation but said the letter wasn't a factor.

Keefe's letter also said the chief went out his way to make the work environment hostile for Pettay, a 21-year veteran.

Hill said Cottrell approached him about the letter's contents two days before he was asked to resign.

Hill, who came to the Belleair Police Department 31/2 years ago from Ohio, has about 30 years of experience in law enforcement. He was originally Belleair's deputy police chief and took over for Chief George Harmansky after he resigned in late 2004.

Hill said he might retire from law enforcement entirely. He doesn't have any hard feelings toward town officials, he said.

"It was a great department to work for," he said. "It was a marvelous town."

As a result of the resignations, Largo's department plans to step in for two to four months. Belleair has no plans to relinquish control of its Police Department on a permanent basis.

"This is a temporary phenomenon," Cottrell said.

Largo police Chief Lester Aradi said Largo has a vested interest in making sure Belleair has proper police protection.

"It's simply neighbor helping out neighbor," Aradi said.

City Manager Steve Stanton said Largo doesn't plan to ask for financial compensation for its services. Largo's department will also glean valuable experience from the arrangement, he said.

"It's an extremely good opportunity," Stanton said. "This would be really good for our people to use our diagnostic tools somewhere else."

This week, Largo's Deputy Chief John Carroll will assess the town's needs and run the department, with the help of another Largo officer.

--Next week two other officers will be assigned to the town.

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 28, 2006, 03:01:29]