GARRETT - The Garrett Police Department is under investigation by the Indiana State Police for an incident which took place in 2020.

A discrepancy between what appeared on body camera footage and facts presented in a criminal investigation in 2020 led to a shake-up in the leadership of the Garrett Police Department.

The Indiana State Police were called in by DeKalb County Prosecutor Neal Blythe three years later as issues are still prevalent within the department.

As of Oct. 13, Garrett police officers are no longer allowed to conduct criminal investigations, according to a letter from Blythe sent to Garrett Mayor Todd Fiandt, Garrett Police Chief Gerald Kline and municipal attorney Darrick Brinkerhoff.

"I am extremely concerned about the safety of the citizens of Garrett as we wait for the full state police investigation to be completed,” Blythe wrote.

Fiandt said Garrett officers are still allowed to issue traffic citations and things of that nature, but any call that requires a criminal investigation will have to be turned over to the Indiana State Police, the Auburn Police Department or the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.

In his letter, Blythe said he had reached out to the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and “decided our office will not be filing any new criminal case that is investigated by any member of the Garrett Police Department.”

With the departmental problems, officers have quit recently and switched to other departments such as Warsaw, Columbia City, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and Fort Wayne.

“I don’t think our department is that bad,” Fiandt said. “We do have some internal troubles we’ll be working on.”

Information provided by WANE15