Email: Police chief writes he was asked to 'provide some high cover' on Hehnke case

Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson wrote an email in the spring of 2014 that said he was asked to keep a citation written to a city employee "off the radar in County Court and the newspaper."

The email was part of a document recently unsealed by the Cheyenne County Court that was obtained through a search warrant. The warrant, requested by investigator Sgt. Monty Lovelace of the Nebraska State Patrol in March, sought messages from Wilkinson's Sidney Police email account from Jan. 29, 2014, to Feb. 12, 2014, and April 11, 2014.

Huber Associates, based in Jefferson City, Mo., provides Information Technology support to the Sidney Police with its Records Management System. The warrant requested email content preserved on the company's server that included incoming and outgoing emails, saved messages, drafts and all content of the trash folder.

The case against Wilkinson stems from an incident that occurred in January 2014 when Sidney Police Officer Tim Craig responded to a residence for a disturbance call. As a result of his investigation, Craig issued a citation to Sidney Public Works Director John Hehnke, who was involved in an incident outside a home belonging to a former girlfriend.

In the email to Craig nearly three months later, Wilkinson wrote: "The morning after you had your contact, did your job, (did it well, but isn't that what you are supposed to do?) I was contacted by both John [Hehnke] and [Sidney City Manager] Gary [Person] at a department head meeting to discuss this issue and how it was going to play out. Although Gary was willing to handle it through internal channels if John were formally charged, the concern would have been that some Councilmen and public figures would have demanded John's termination, and therefore Gary's hands would have been tied.

"I was specifically asked to provide some high cover on this, keeping it if possible off the radar in County Court and the newspaper, while leveraging John with counseling and a very short leash regarding his movement and activity. Against my better judgement, and knowing that it would have ramifications, I pulled the paperwork, and in the best interests of the health of the City, long-term, and documented the conversation and what the ramifications of a violation on John's part would be."

Wilkinson, in a telephone interview on Thursday, refused to say whom he received that directive from.

"I can't comment on that," Wilkinson said. "You don't have the back story and I can't share that with you. There are some things that occurred with Hehnke that I just can't talk about publicly right now."

Person said Thursday that he never asked Wilkinson for any favors nor to cover up the citation.

"Those were his words," Person said of the email. "I can tell you that at this point his words are not my interpretation of how things unfolded. I guarantee that I never used those words. I don't know why B.J. chose to use that kind of terminology.

"I only asked if the matter was taken care of to the satisfaction of all parties involved," Person added. "B.J. was the one communicating with both parties. I try not to get involved in any police matters.

"When the appeal process runs its course, I'd be happy to talk more about it in detail."

Wilkinson pleaded no contest on July 17 to a charge of obstructing government operations – a misdemeanor. He was sentenced that same day to a 30-day jail term, which is on hold after a $500 appeal bond was posted the following week. He remains on paid administrative leave.

In a Nebraska State Patrol investigation this spring, Wilkinson admitted to removing the citation for political reasons and never passing the file along to the county attorney's office.

Calls to Wilkinson's attorney Thomas Sonntag seeking comment were not returned.

Hehnke said Thursday that he never asked for any preferential treatment following the incident and the subsequent citation.

"At no point or at any time did I ask Gary, B.J. or anyone to cover anything up," Hehnke said. "I can vehemently say that didn't happen."

Both Person and Hehnke said that they were never contacted nor interviewed by Lovelace during the State Patrol's investigation.

"No, I was never interviewed or contacted in the investigation that was done," Hehnke said. "I was quite taken aback actually when the AG's office gave me the citation this spring."

Hehnke said – on the advice of city attorney J. Leef – he couldn't reveal how he learned that the original citation had never reached the county attorney's office or how it had essentially been disposed of.

Sidney Mayor Mark Nienhueser said he and the entire city council are taking the case very seriously.

"I and the entire city council are very committed to finding out the truth," Nienhueser said. "The right thing for us to do is to get all of the facts and decide the direction we want to go in. We're taking it very seriously and spending a lot of time on this matter. We will take the time to do it right."

THE EMAIL TRANSCRIPT

Here is the email from Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson to then-Sidney Police Sgt. Tim Craig that was sent on April 11, 2014, and seized through a search warrant during the investigation of Wilkinson for the crime of obstructing a government operation. It was recently unsealed in Cheyenne County Court and obtained by The Sidney Sun-Telegraph:

"There is no secret that the Major [Joe Aikens] and I became actively involved in that for a number of reasons. The most significant of these are political, and are perhaps my least favorite issues to become entangled with – there is no clear solution that will keep everyone happy and satisfy all the interests in play.

I would point out a few things at 10,000 feet that may go unnoticed: John is a key player in the administration of the City, perhaps without proper justification, but still that condition exists, nonetheless. His presence and ability will be critical to what we are about to undertake, and many projects would be severely compromised if he were out of the picture. There is no one groomed to do what he does, again short-staffing, and if he were out-of-play, many of the things that have had months and years of work put into them, coming to the table this spring and summer, would be jeopardized.

There was a very good chance that if John was formerly charged in this incident, thus making the formal charges public, he would be relieved of duty and terminated from employment. He knew that, as did Major [Aikens], and as did I when I came into the loop.

The morning after you had your contact, did your job, (did it well, but isn't that what you are supposed to do?) I was contacted by both [Sidney Public Works Director] John [Hehnke] and [Sidney City Manager] Gary [Person] at a department head meeting to discuss this issue and how it was going to play out. Although Gary was willing to handle it through internal channels if John were formally charged, the concern would have been that some Councilmen and public figures would have demanded John's termination, and therefore Gary's hands would have been tied.

I was specifically asked to provide some high cover on this, keeping it if possible off the radar in County Court and the newspaper, while leveraging John with counseling and a very short leash regarding his movement and activity. Against my better judgement, and knowing that it would have ramifications, I pulled the paperwork, and in the best interests of the health of the City, long-term, and documented the conversation and what the ramifications of a violation on John's part would be."