Indiana police chief, officer suspended after arresting council candidate thought to be anti-cop

A police chief and another officer in the small town of Brookville, Indiana, were suspended after a hearing revealed that they reportedly arrested a town council candidate who they believed was anti-police.

Brookville Police Chief Terry Mitchum and investigating officer Ryan Geiser were put on paid leave by that same council following details that emerged regarding criminal charges that had been brought against candidate Trevin Thalheimer, who has since dropped out of the race, Fox News has confirmed. 

"I knew politics was dirty, but I didn’t know I’d have to dumpster dive," Thalheimer told the Washington Post, which first reported the news. Thalheimer said after he spent roughly an hour in jail he decided to no longer run for office in the town of just 2,500 people.

It was January 30 when Thalheimer was arrested on suspicion of rape, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, according to the Greensburg Daily News. 

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During the July 19 hearing, which was over a defense motion to suppress evidence, Franklin County Prosecutor Chris Huerkamp ended up joining the motion and dropping all charges right then and there.

"Based on what I heard in open court, I am disturbed beyond words at the conduct of this investigation and arrest," Huerkamp said.

According to the Post, a witness who is friends with Thalheimer testified at a July 19 hearing that three days before Thalheimer's arrest Geiser asked her about running for the town council seat. She said Geiser mentioned his belief that Thalheimer was not a fan of police.

"We don’t want him on the town board because he hates cops," the witness recalled Geiser saying about Thalheimer.

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After that phone call, the Post reported, Geiser investigated a claim by Thalheimer's neighbor that items from his house were missing after Thalheimer was supposed to be watching the property. During the investigation, Geiser reportedly spoke to Thalheimer's roommate and smelled marijuana, leading to him obtaining a search warrant and arresting Thalheimer – not just for the alleged marijuana possession, but for a rape accusation from months earlier that prosecutors had previously determined was insufficient to support a case.

During the hearing, Geiser said he had heard that there was new evidence in the rape case, but he did not know what it was. He also reportedly said that it was Mitchum who ordered Thalheimer's arrest. He also noted that Mitchum was "not a huge supporter" of Thalheimer.

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Huerkamp has since referred the matter to the Indiana State Police. A state police spokesperson told the Post that the investigation was "in its earliest stages."

Fox News has reached out to both the state police and Huerkamp's office for comment but neither immediately responded.