Monticello police sergeant alleges retaliation for working with prosecutors to arrest ex-officer
Sgt. Matt Rohner says the village board is taking his K-9, named "Decca," out of service next week after he alerted the district attorney to concerns with Jeremy Solomon’s application to re-apply as a police officer.
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A Monticello police sergeant is alleging retaliation after he worked with Sullivan County prosecutors to have a department dispatcher arrested.
Sgt. Matt Rohner says the village board is taking his K-9, named "Decca," out of service next week after he alerted the district attorney to concerns with Jeremy Solomon’s application to re-apply as a police officer.
The former officer was re-hired as dispatcher in 2022 after resigning as part of Solomon’s guilty plea to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old in 2017. The conviction was overturned, however, because of a typo and officials say Solomon sued the village to get his job back.
Rohner says Solomon failed to disclose his criminal past on his newest application and state police say Solomon was charged in January with two felonies as a result. He was put on leave until Thursday, when he was reinstated as a dispatcher by the new village board that Rohner and the ex-mayor allege Solomon helped get elected.
News 12 obtained a copy of the Monticello Police Department’s letter to Sgt. Rohner about the police dog’s retirement which says, “Due to Decca advancing in age (10 years and 5 months) plus budget and personnel restraints it is no longer feasible for the village to keep the program going at this time.”
Rohner says the K-9 is healthy and fully funded by donations but the department’s acting chief, David Lindsay, says the animal is older than most police dogs, and that the village pays for training days and overtime.
Rohner alleges the board is taking away another sergeant’s take-home car after the department official also came forward to prosecutors with concerns about Solomon’s application.
Lindsay denies the directives are in retaliation and says no one in the department, including himself, is allowed to take home work-issued vehicles any longer as part of newly implemented, cost-saving measures.
News 12 reached out to officials at Village Hall on Thursday. They referred News 12 to their attorney, who has not returned our request for comment.
