Two Cheney officers on leave

CHENEY - Two police officers are on administrative leave pending conclusion of an investigation for violating department policy.

Capt. Nathan Conley, 44, and detective Rocky Hanni, 39, are under investigation for actions taken between the beginning of 2021 and the end of 2022.

Conley is accused of failing to supervise Hanni properly, a violation of the supervisor responsibilities policy, according to interim Chief Rick Beghtol's memo to Mayor Chris Gover and City Administrator Mark Schuller.

Detective Hanni is accused of violating a department policy covering efficiency and neglect of duty.

Both officers remained on duty during the first stages of the investigation in January 2023, but were placed on administrative leave in April, according to the memo.

Grover requested that a third-party investigate, but after several months an independent party was not hired, the report said.

As a result, Beghtol is leading the investigation.

In his report, Beghtol states that he conducted interviews with both officers as well as other members of the police department.

Conley allegedly provided Hanni special privileges such as being allowed to work from home and to adjust his shift schedule at his own discretion. He also allegedly failed to oversee the work of the detective's office which resulted in a significant backlog, the report said.

In interviews with the Mayor, other officers in the department expressed concern over Hanni and Conley being given overload pay not afforded other members of their collective bargaining unit, the report said.

These activities allegedly happened during former Police Chief John Hensley's tenure. During an interview with Conley, Beghtol reported that it became apparent to him that former police chief John Hensley relied on Conley heavily, if not entirely, for the day-to-day operations of the department.

"Conley was responsible for ordering equipment, scheduling shifts, setting up interviews for promotions and specialty positions, and anything else that was required," Beghtol wrote.

In response, former police chief John Hensley said "I did indeed rely upon Nate to oversee day-to-day operations as he is the captain. This finding is not a negative, it's a fact of life in most police agencies."

Hensley said that the chief does not manage day-to-day activities. "My job was to oversee the entire department and review, plan, and focus on improving areas in need of attention," Hensley said.

Hensley said that part of the issue in Cheney is that the police department does not have administrative assistance.

"Nate and I were essentially high-paid executive assistants; answering phones, typing memos, paying bills, ordering supplies, facility maintenance," Hensley said.

In the interview with Beghtol, Conley said that he absorbed the responsibility of managing the detective's office in May of 2021, and that he did indeed allow Hanni to work from home, though only on occasions when Hanni's family situation required flexibility, saying that he also found that Hanni worked more efficiently from home because there were fewer distractions.

During interviews with other officers, Beghtol found that many were frustrated with the apparent lack of consistency in Hanni's scheduling assignments, reports said.

When interviewing Detective Hanni, Beghtol inquired about the backlog of cases in his department, Hanni said that this was because other "collateral" duties, such as overseeing the property room, which nobody else was willing to do, contributed to the backlog.

Hanni said that he had told both chief Hensley and captain Conley about his frustrations with the overload of duties, and was told that he should do the best he can.

Beghtol was able to corroborate this claim with evidence that chief Hensley had been conducting research on similarly sized departments and their staffing arrangements.

"I know that chief Hensley was gathering data to support his request to add a detective's position, a position that is very much needed, but it demonstrates that he was aware of Hanni's struggles and still permitted him to take on additional duties."

Additionally, Beghtol conducted interviews with other officers in the department who said that they had offered to help detective Hanni, but had been refused.

This is an ongoing investigation and as of the time of this publication, both officers are on administrative leave.

Author Bio

Lucas Walsh, Former managing editor

Lucas is a former Cheney Free Press managing editor. He is a nationally published author who contributes regularly to several publications across the country.