PRESS RELEASE RE: DH POLICE DEPARTMENT
In Executive Session on Thursday, June 18, 2015, General Manager James
Turner presented to the DH Board of Directors a proposal to close the
Police Department and contract private security for the main gate. This proposal
was accepted and subsequently approved by a straw vote of the DH
Board. Subsequently, the Chief of Police, Joel Tyner, was notified personally by
the GM, and then the officers and dispatchers, of this upcoming change.
The details that led up to this decision are as follows:
In June of 2011 the DPOA was brought into litigation by an incident involving
the Police Department and two DH residents. This lawsuit was ongoing until the
past few months, when the plaintiffs filed for a "Non-Suit". This in
essence dropped the lawsuit against the DPOA; however, it still left open the
option for re-filing within one year.
Due to the extravagant amount spent to defend this case, as well as the possibility
of further action, in early June 2015, DPOA was notified by ABI that the
Police Department Law Enforcement Insurance Liability Policy would not
be renewed.
ABI, along with our GM, began seeking new coverage for the Police Department.
Of the 21 companies we interviewed only one submitted a quote of over seven
times the current rate with a $50,000 deductible.
With this information, coupled with the fiscal responsibility and the requests by
many homeowners to make this change at the gate, GM Turner made
the recommendation to the board to contract with Harp's Security beginning
July 6,2015.
If you would like further information, please do not rely on hearsay or rumor.
Plan to attend the Town Meeting on Thursday, July 25, 2015. There will
be a representative from Harp's Security present to assist the DPOA Board in
answering any questions or concerns you may have.
