Following the announcement of the hiring of David Leavitt to be the next Alliance Police Department Chief, several people shared their disapproval of his hiring, citing an article by WPLN News in Nashville regarding Leavitt being disciplined for alleged sexual harassment.
According to the article, which was published on November 8, 2021, Leavitt was allowed to retire in good standing from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, following a sexual harassment charge and subsequent discipline. The article tells of two other disciplinary actions taken against Leavitt by the MNPD throughout his time in service.
No legal actions were taken against Leavitt.
The press release announcing the appointment of Leavitt as the next APD Chief was shared to the Alliance Nebraska Police Department Facebook page, which, as of press time, had garnered more than 100 comments from people, many of which called into question the background check of the hiring process. Several others expressed the desire for the chief to have been hired locally, and for citizens to attend upcoming Alliance City Council meetings.
The City of Alliance issued a press release in response to the allegations, noting that Leavitt, “proactively shared at the very beginning of the vetting process his side of the story of the events reported by wpln.org.”
The release goes on to describe the various methods used in their vetting process, as well as research completed by search consultants Government Professional Solutions, stating they found, “no reason for Chief Leavitt to be disqualified for consideration of the police chief position.”