A longtime Columbia Heights police officer, who also sits on the Fridley school board, has been fired for failing to disclose his financial stake in a check-cashing business while responding to felony-level police calls there.
Joseph Sturdevant was terminated in April, and his firing became final this summer after an appeal was rejected because it was filed after the deadline. He joined the police department in May 1996.
Sturdevant grew up in Columbia Heights, served on the city's charter commission and also sat on the Columbia Heights school board until his term expired in 2012. His father, also Joseph Sturdevant, served as Columbia Heights mayor in the late 1990s.
According to the city's notice to terminate document obtained by the Star Tribune, Sturdevant was fired this spring after department brass discovered he was financially involved with Your Exchange, a check-cashing business with five north metro locations including Columbia Heights. Your Exchange charges customers 2 to 5 percent of a check's value to cash it.
"He admitted that his financial involvement was a conflict of interest but did not tell anyone of that conflict," according to the document. "He handled felony level calls for service at the business which included investigation and possible charges and recovery of funds and did not disclose his conflict of interest."
When initially asked about his dealings with Your Exchange, Sturdevant was said to be "deceptive."
He did not respond to a request for comment.
"Unfortunately there are circumstances where we find that an employee has not met our high standards, and corrective action — to include either discipline or termination — is appropriate," Columbia Heights Police Chief Scott Nadeau said in a written statement.