UAFS police chief reassigned

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith police chief who was recently the center of controversy has been moved to another position at the university.

Kevin Thiele was reassigned Nov. 22 to manage the Community Service Officers, a  program that connects students with the campus police force.

“This is simply a redirection of the work force, and we are doing what is in the best interest of the university,” noted a statement from UAFS spokeswoman Sondra LaMar when asked about Thiele’s move.

LaMar said the university has not yet hired a new campus police chief.

Concerns about Thiele were first aired Aug. 27 from documents obtained by The City Wire through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. The documents indicated at least four incidents and issues facing UAFS officials:
• The alleged wrongful termination of former UAFS patrol officer Mike Burcham;
• An allegation that a UAFS patrol officer was given a weapon and ammunition with no prior police training or qualification on a gun range;
• An allegation that a UAFS patrol officer was sitting inside the UAFS “troop room” and was pulling the trigger of a gun — without the ammo clip — aimed at a wall; and,
• The issue of an August 2001 restraining order issued against Kevin Thiele requiring him to stay away from his ex-wife and children. Thiele was hired by UAFS in April 2003, and now serves as the chief of the UAFS campus police.

According to a May 3 letter from Burcham attorney Kevin Holmes, Burcham was fired on April 19 because Thiele said he was “not a good fit.” Burcham, who has 21 years in law enforcement and 7 years with the University of Arkansas police force, began with the UAFS police force in April 2009. Burcham, 41, lives in Van Buren, and sought the job to avoid the daily commute to Fayetteville.

Burcham has since filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

On Aug. 31, UAFS Chancellor Paul Beran said an internal investigation found that Thiele had not violated university rules.

Beran said university officials “found after extensive discovery that nothing whatsoever has been substantiated that reflects a violation of the law or that falls outside the guidelines of acceptable legal behavior and actions of a university police department.”