WILTON, Iowa — Wilton Police Chief Steve Mallinger said Thursday he resigned after his request to reinstate a suspended police officer was rejected by Mayor Dick Summy.

“I told the mayor I thought he was heading down the wrong path with this suspension,” Mallinger told the Muscatine Journal. “I respectfully requested that he reinstate Officer (Todd) Jansen with back pay and also apologize to him. … He didn’t do anything wrong.

“When he (Summy) said he wouldn’t, I told him I was resigning. … I can’t work with him.”

A special City Council meeting set for 5 p.m. today will deal with the police chief’s resignation, appointment of an interim police chief and an expected decision on Jansen’s status.

Summy confirmed that Mallinger told him he was resigning. The mayor said the resignation was a “surprise.” He acknowledged that Mallinger asked him to consider reinstating Jansen and apologize to the officer. “The only thing I said was that I was not going to apologize,” Summy said.

“Then, he (Mallinger) resigned. … He also told me he was going to be a witness for Jansen against the City.”

Mallinger acknowledged telling the mayor he would testify on behalf of Jansen, who has sought legal representation. “So I tipped my hand that way. I worry about the financial strain this (legal action) will cause Wilton.”

Mallinger, 56, added that the recent incident with Jansen was the “culmination” of problems in his relationship with city leaders. “I don’t agree with the way the mayor is running the City Council and I don’t agree with the way the City Council is following the mayor.”

Summy said working with Mallinger “has not been difficult at all. He may think I’m trying to manage the police, but I’m not. … But when people call me, I’ve gotta get things resolved. I’m not against the police, even though some people here think I am.”

Summy said he’s received several complaints from residents about police actions in the past few months, and all of them concerned Jansen.

Jansen, 30, was placed on unpaid administrative leave by the mayor on March 14, two days after he arrested three men on public intoxication charges.

On March 20, the city’s              

CHIEF JUmp

Public Safety Committee met to discuss a complaint that Jansen used excessive force in making the arrests, including the use of pepper spray on one of the men. Jansen told the committee, which includes the mayor, police chief and two City Council members, that one of the men, Matt Driscoll, 27, rural Cedar County, used profanity and resisted arrest. That led to charges of public intoxication, interference with official acts and disorderly conduct.

Brandon Grunder, 25, Wilton, also resisted, Jansen said.

At the March 20 meeting, the committee made no decision on Jansen’s status but indicated it would be further discussed at a meeting of the full City Council on March 27. Now the issue apparently will come to a head at today’s special meeting.

Mallinger said he won’t attend today’s meeting because because he has personal business out of the state.

He has served as Wilton’s police chief for 4 ½ years. Previously, he worked for the Clinton Police Department for 24 years.

He is married and has four children. He said he’ll begin looking for a new job but plans to remain in Wilton, where he’s also built a housing subdivision.

“I want to say to the people of Wilton that it’s been an honor to serve them for the past four and one-half years, and we plan to stay here.  … This is my home. There are a lot of good people here.”

— Pam Martz, Muscatine Journal correspondent, contributed to this report.

Contact Jeff Tecklenburg at 563-263-2331, Ext. 324, or jeff.tecklenburg@muscatinejournal.com.

Time line

N Dec. 30 — Wilton Police Officer Todd Jansen stops City  Council member Keith Stanley for an equipment violation; police records show that when Jansen realized Stanley was a city official, Jansen contacted the Iowa State Patrol, which later charged Stanley with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

N Jan. 23 —Wilton City Council eliminates language in the city’s contract that protects the police chief from being terminated for any reason other than a criminal act.

N Jan. 27 — Wilton Public Safety Committee meets briefly to discuss the performance of Police Chief Steve Mallinger, then adjourns after Mayor Dick Summy is advised by an attorney that the meeting cannot be closed to the public.

N Feb. 13 — Wilton resident Teri Carson claims that some residents ticketed by police are using the City Council to “get back at our police officers.” Another resident, Tonya Hannes, said the city should have its own officer on patrol from 4-7 a.m., when the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Department is on call. (Note: last fall, the Wilton City Council reduced the number of full-time police officers from five to four.)

March 20 — Public Safety Committee reviews a complaint that  Jansen allegedly used excessive force in arresting three men for public intoxication and two of them for resisting arrests.

March 23 —  Mallinger resigns; special City Council meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, March 24, to consider the resignation, appointment of an interim chief and a decision on Jansen’s status.