OCU ex-interim chief returns as sergeant

Oklahoma City University' s interim police chief has returned from leave as as ergeant while a LaHue formal

complaint is pending against him, two school officials confirmed.

Sgt. Mark La Hue remains with the department as a supervisor. Retired Oklahoma City Police Department Chief Bill Citty has taken over the interim chief role, though his title at the university is police director.

“Chiefs are called all kinds of things with titles,” Citty said. “The bottom line is, I' m running the police department in the same capacity as the chief. Title is really irrelevant. Of course, one of the priorities is to help the university find a new chief.”

OCU is handling a complaint against La Hue, said Leslie Berger, senior director of university communications. Berger would not provide details of the allegations made in the complaint.

Citty also confirmed OCU is investigating a complaint against LaHue. He said the complaint has not been an issue for police department operations.

His return to sergeant was not a result of t he complaint, Berger and Citty said. Rather, his work as interim chief was no longer necessary once Citty was in place as police director, they said.

Former OCU police officer Steven Vincent said one of LaHue's own department colleagues filed the complaint against the sergeant. The officer who filed the complaint is openly gay and allegedly reported LaHue for making homophobic remarks, Vincent said.

The officer declined to comment.

La Hue was named interim chief on Sept. 11 after Chief Rusty Pyle and Lt. Michael Kavenius re signed following an allegation of racial profiling.

After less than a month as interim chief, LaHue left the department on approved l eave Oct. 3, and the university did not provide a public explanation for his departure. He returned to work Oct. 11 as a sergeant, the rank he held previously.

LaHue is the highestranking officer beneath Cit ty, and he is the first-line supervisor for the rest of the officers on staff.

Since he joined OCU on Oct. 9, Citty has already hired a new police officer and is in the process of adding another, which would bring the total number of officers to seven. He said he will remain with OCU even after the university hires a permanent chief.

This will allow him to establish policies and procedures with the new chief and t he diversity and inclusion advocate, a position currently occupied by an interim official.

Cit ty, who retired in May after 15 years as the Oklahoma City police chief, has already identified possible areas for added training, but he said he has no concerns that campus police are lacking in policies or procedures.

He expects to remain at OCU for at least six months, but that time frame is “open ended,” he said. There is no official timeline for hiring a new chief.

“The university wants to find someone quality ,” Citty said .“There' s no timeline because the important thing is to find somebody who fits into this police department and has the qualifications, ( who) understands t he values of this university and the students and can work well with them.”