Mooresville police chief voted out from position by town council, to be reassigned

MOORESVILLE — The Mooresville Town Council has voted to remove Police Chief Kevin Julian from his position.

Council members announced the decision at the Town Council meeting Tuesday.

“I can confirm the council made the determination to remove the chief," said Chou-il Lee, attorney for the Town of Mooresville.

During the meeting, several council members discussed Julian's involvement in a K-9 program that did not materialize.

Councilman Shane Williams said it was "disappointing" there wasn't more cooperation.

"I have been disappointed. I really have. I was one of your biggest advocates," Williams said during the meeting. "Statements like, 'we're going to just raise money to get a dog anyway without council approval,' and things like that — it's just not good to say those kinds of things."

Julian at one point addressed the council, thanking them for allowing him to serve as chief for two years.

"I (have) probably not, I guess, made the decisions that you as the town council — or at least a couple of council members — deemed that should have been done," Julian said, adding, "I feel comfortable with what I have done. I think we made positive progress with the department."

In accordance with Indiana Code, Julian will receive the pay of a lieutenant, though he may not serve in that role once reassigned, according to Lee.

Statutorily, he must be returned to the last rank and grade he held unless there’s not something open, Lee said.

“This is not the job that I necessarily wanted to do. I tried, I rooted for him. We just had to move in a little bit of a different direction," said Dustin Stanley, a councilman and a liaison for the police department.

Stanley said he was opposed to any further action against Julian.

Lee and council members declined to cite an exact reason for Julian's removal.