Covington sergeant suspended 30 days without pay, demoted

COVINGTON, Ky. (WXIX) - Covington Board of Commissioners unanimously voted 5-0 early Thursday to place a police sergeant on 30-day unpaid suspension and demote him by one rank.

Sgt. Jason Hartzler violated internal police policies “related to unbecoming conduct and the behavior of employees and the work environment they create,” the board determined after holding a 7 ½-hour hearing with 10 testifying witnesses.

“The City of Covington and its Police Department will not tolerate inappropriate behavior by its employees,” the city said in a prepared statement Thursday.

The hearing followed a police internal affairs investigation into incidents involving Hartzler and other members of the Covington Police Department that happened in December 2022 and January 2023, according to the city’s release.

The investigation resulted in internal charges and disciplinary action filed against Hartzler, who appealed Police Chief Brian Valenti’s recommendation to suspend him for eight days.

The hearing started at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and was open to the public at Hartzler’s request, according to the city.

FOX19 NOW is reaching out to his lawyer and has requested copies of the complaints against Hartzler, the internal investigation and his personnel file.

The charging documents are below. A warning - some of the content is graphic.

We will continue to update this story.

Here are the policies that the board of commissioners determined he violated:

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