UPDATE (1:35 p.m. Friday, June 21): A board of current and former members of the Charleston Police Department has voted to give former Police Chief James “Tyke” Hunt $6,000 a month as part of his disability pension.
They found that the injury Hunt received was from an off-duty incident. He will have to pay taxes on this as it was an off duty injury.
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – A board of current and former members of the Charleston Police Department will vote on the medical disability retirement of former Police Chief James “Tyke” Hunt Friday afternoon.
According to an agenda posted on the city of Charleston’s website, the four-person board will vote on the pension on June 21 at 1 p.m.
A board member, Charleston Police Department Secretary and former Sgt. James Duncan provided insight into what the board will discuss.
The board will look at whether the injury was an injury in the line of duty or off duty.
If it is considered an on-the-job injury, they will receive 60% pay for the 12 months prior to the injury, according to Duncan. The only way they could get less than 60% is if their salary exceeded 120% of the two years before the first year.
If it’s an off-duty injury, they’ll get 60% of their previous year’s pay back, but if they make an additional $18,200 in earnings, the pension amount will be gradually reduced by the amount made in additional earnings, according to Duncan.
Since it is a four person board, this is possible. Duncan says if it’s tied, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin will break it.
In April 2024, Hunt was demoted and suspended after an investigation into him and Sgt. Richie Basford, according to the Charleston Police Department. Lt. Tony Hazelett with the department said Basford is back on full duty. According to Charleston Police Chief Scott Dempsey, his suspension ended on May 6 and he was placed on medical leave after that.
CPD said Hunt will now serve as a corporal after being promoted to lieutenant. He served as police chief from 2020 to 2023 after his predecessor, Opie Smith Jr., retired, according to the city of Charleston.
This all comes after two women officially filed complaints against former CPD Chief James “Tyke” Hunt, alleging sexual misconduct. Hunt resigned in August. 18, 2023, citing personal and medical reasons, and Scott Dempsey was named interim chief. He has since been sworn in as the city’s police chief.
The first complaint came from Jennifer Harless and prompted an investigation by the West Virginia State Police. She is not a city employee, but claims she and Hunt had a consensual sexual relationship and that Hunt launched an FBI investigation into her.
According to City Attorney Kevin Baker, the FBI investigated Jennifer Harless after Hunt’s wife complained that she was being harassed by Harless. However, the FBI said it got involved because it takes all such complaints seriously and that Hunt’s position as police chief did not affect the investigation.
In late August 2023, McCoy filed a complaint with the city of Charleston, alleging she was pressured into having sex by then-Sergeant Tyke Hunt during her application process. She also claims she failed her polygraph test to be certified on the police force, but Hunt passed it anyway.
McCoy, who applied to be an officer in 2018, told a local podcast, “Scoop Squad, Truth Squad,” that she had been worried about passing the polygraph exam because of her past drug use. She told Hunt about her concerns but did not mention drugs. She said Hunt assured her he would pull through. McCoy said she lied during the polygraph, but Hunt told her she passed. She filed a lawsuit in March 2024 against Hunt.
In July, Charleston City Council member Shannon Snodgrass called for an independent investigation into Hunt, citing Harless’ complaint. Councilwoman Beth Kerns also said in August that an investigation should be conducted by those outside of Hunt’s command to eliminate conflicts of interest.
The Charleston City Council voted 21-5 in August. 7, 2023, in opposition to the opening of an external investigation into alleged misconduct by Police Chief Tyke Hunt.
Hunt said in a July 2023 apology letter to the Charleston City Council that he “misappropriated city property” and was suspended without pay for three days in June 2022. Hunt was not specific about what property he misused.
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