Leaders of a central Missouri town are trying to stop a fired police chief from getting his job back.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that a judge ordered the reinstatement of Sturgeon Police Chief Greg Halderman last week, finding that his due process rights were violated. Halderman was preparing to return to work when he was notified in a letter that he was being suspended without pay. Halderman's attorney, Andy Hirth, said he thought the letter was "in defiance" of the judge's order.
Sturgeon administrators have said Halderman was justly removed in March 2017, in part because of alleged alcohol abuse. Halderman has admitted to responding to a call and going to interrogate suspects at the jail after drinking alcohol, but he said in both instances he had had only one beer.