LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) - A judge is ordering the Lake Charles Police Department to reinstate a deputy chief who’s under indictment.
District Court Judge Sharon Wilson on Friday ordered the department to rehire Deputy Chief T. J. Bell and awarded him back pay since he was fired in June.
Officials accuse Bell improperly paying a secretary for work when she was attending school. Bell was indicted last year for malfeasance in office and then fired. The secretary, Jeanine Blaney, was indicted for public payroll fraud and fired.
Wilson noted that Blaney had been getting paid while attending school for six years before she was transferred to Bell’s division in 2013.
City Attorney Billy Loftin tells KPLC-TV (https://bit.ly/1YlcX3z) the city will consider an appeal.
Bell’s criminal trial is set for June 13.
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Information from: KPLC-TV, https://kplctv.com
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