The drama continues to swirl around regarding the suspension of Great Bend Police Chief Cliff Couch. In an animated Great Bend City Council meeting Monday night, there were a few comments that stood out that provided some insight to the situation and there were other comments that left citizens more confused and questioning their local governing board.
Council member Wayne Henneke was put on the spot a few times during the meeting that saw more than 400 people attend. Henneke told the crowd one of the main reasons that he voted in favor of suspending Chief Couch at the July 24 special meeting was because Couch responded that could not work with City Administrator Howard Partington after their differences.
Wayne Henneke Audio
Shortly after saying he needed to hear it out of Couch’s mouth that the police chief would be capable of working things out, Couch entered the Great Bend Events Center and briefly addressed the council. Couch noted his “no” response related to his decision to not remove his request for an investigation on the city administration, but he would be willing work with whoever for the good of the city.
A previous revote to rescind Couch’s suspension resulted in a 4-4 tie, with Mayor Mike Allison making the deciding vote to keep the suspension. After Henneke’s comment earlier and Couch’s statement, another vote seemed like a 5-3 result to reinstate the police chief was a possibility. Instead, Henneke decided to keep his vote the same and ultimately keeping the suspension intact.
Citizen Joseph Trimmer questioned why Henneke went back on his word, in which Henneke responded, “I am not going to be held down to my exact words.”
Joseph Trimmer & Wayne Henneke Audio
Henneke later went on to say Couch added a caveat to his promise to work with Partington when the police chief said he would not drop the request for an investigation. When crowd members accused Henneke of being a liar, Henneke responded, “I guess I was misunderstood too then, right?”
Couch claimed there was misconduct from City Administrator Howard Partington and Allison, while the suspension notice claims Couch made “false or reckless” accusations.