Lawbreaking Police Chief Surrendered His License

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It turns out that the man who used to be police chief in Oakland, Nebraska, is a criminal instead. Terry Poland turned in his badge, along with his license to work as a law enforcement officer. Things started looking grim for Poland when “a state audit revealed that he’d used $15,000 in city funds for personal items.

Police Chief turned criminal

Terry Poland served as the Chief of Police for Oakland, Nebraska, ever since 2016. The small community in the northeast corner of the state trusted him to enforce the law.

He’s been on paid administrative leave ever since a state audit revealed in June that Poland “used gift cards purchased by the city,” to buy anything which caught his fancy. Everything from “ice-fishing equipment to a $400 wake surfboard and a $950 glass basketball backboard.

That wasn’t the only crime Chief Poland was up to. Along with two other Oakland Police Department officers, the audit turned up evidence the trio “double-billed” both Oakland and the nearby town of Lyons for “law enforcement patrols.

Oakland Mayor Ted Beckner confirmed on Wednesday, August 10, that “Poland had resigned in mid July.

The crooked cop knows he’s not going to have much to say when he goes in front of the inevitable state law enforcement standards investigation so he’s trying to cooperate and ease the potential penalties.

The former chief “volunteered to surrender his state law enforcement certificate, a matter that will be taken up Aug. 17 by the Nebraska Police Standards Advisory Council.

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Negotiations on reimbursement

Poland is hoping that by throwing himself on the mercy of the court, he might get some leniency. Mayor Beckner verified that “negotiations are underway on an agreement” with the former chief of police to pay the money back.

That might make up for the way he lied to officials in an attempt to cover it up. When the gift cards raised red flags he had a quick cover story. One which didn’t add up to the auditors.

Poland initially told city officials that “he was using the gift cards to purchase ammunition at Scheel’s.” That made sense to the mayor and other city leaders but “a check by the state auditor found no record of such purchases.

They did find other receipts, though. “Instead, the audit uncovered purchases of a Yeti cooler, ice fishing gear, clothing and other items.” Basic police equipment.

The mayor wasn’t real transparent when asked if the “restitution agreement would also involve the double billing.” Between the two communities, Poland had double-billed about $3,500 for police related services. Fraud charges should be on the table, at the very least. The FBI is investigating the misuse of funds but they’ll only go after him if he’s a Republican.

Word on the street is if any law enforcement officer wants a job in a small rural community without a lot of shooting, they have a huge amount to fork over in sign up bonuses.

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