New Hampton Mayor Accepts Police Chief’s Resignation
A north Iowa police chief has resigned, just shy of a year after he took over the post.
Following a closed session at Monday (04.15) night’s New Hampton City Council meeting, Mayor Steve Geerts accepted the resignation of Police Chief Tim Pederson. According to a City press release, Pederson submitted his resignation because of conduct determined to bring reproach upon the City and, thus, did not meet the expectations of a police chief’s position.
The City says that on March 29th, while shopping at a store, Pederson noticed $40 cash left in a self-checkout lane. Rather than turning the money into customer service or store staff, Pederson retained possession of the money and left the store.
A short time later, the owner of the $40 realized that, after leaving the store, they had forgotten to collect the cash from the self-checkout and contacted law enforcement. Pederson was then contacted by law enforcement, immediately returned to the area, and turned the money over to the officer handling the call to return it to its rightful owner.
Geerts says the incident occurred in Waterloo.
The City’s statement adds, “While the City of New Hampton is undoubtedly disappointed by Chief Pederson’s actions, we have been very pleased with his performance and the direction he has taken the police department. The City of New Hampton will have no further comment regarding this matter and wishes him success in his future endeavors.”
Pederson became NHPD Police Chief April 19, 2023, after almost two decades with the Harlan Police Department, including serving as interim chief most of the year prior to coming to northeast Iowa.
