Former longtime Hiawatha Police Sgt. Laura Tollefson will learn within the next five business days whether she will get her job back.
At the request of Tollefson, the Hiawatha City Commission held a grievance hearing Monday evening in a three-hour closed-door session.
Mayor Crosby Gernon made the following statement following the hearing...( play audio )
A standing room only crowd was on hand for the meeting to show their support for Tollefson.  Many residents also sent letters to commissioners in support of the 20-year veteran officer.
Tollefson requested the grievance hearing after she was terminated by City Administrator Lynne Ladner on May 11th.  She had been placed on administrative leave March 22nd prior to her termination.
Tollefson and her attorney, Brenda Head of Topeka, met with commissioners behind closed-doors to make their case as to why Ladner’s decision should be overturned.
Also present for the closed-door session were Assistant City Attorney Hillary Boye and the city’s labor attorney, Daniel Press of Wichita.   Ladner was also present for a portion of the closed-door session.
Last Wednesday,  the Kansas Attorney’s office announced their decision not to pursue prosecution of Tollefson.  That followed a review of an investigation conducted by the Hiawatha Police Department into a complaint made against her by a fellow officer stemming from a domestic violence call last December.  
The case has since been forwarded by the A.G.’s office to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officer’s Standards and Training.