Statehouse candidate faced suspension in ’15
By JESSICA BRICKER
A candidate from Wells County running for statewide office was temporarily suspended in 2015 as a sheriff’s deputy for violating multiple department policies.
In April 2015, an order of temporary suspension and reprimand was issued against then-deputy Russ Mounsey by then-sheriff Monte Fisher. A copy of the order was made public this week on social media for the first time and its authenticity was confirmed by The News-Banner.
Mounsey is running for the Indiana House of Representatives in the May Republican primary against incumbent Rep. Matt Lehman of Berne. Mounsey is currently an officer with the Ossian Police Department.
When questioned at the time, Mounsey reportedly offered “a full admission” to the misconduct levied against him, which included violation of four department policies:
• “Conduct unbecoming to a deputy” for involving himself with a witness in an active investigation and for participating in a romantic relationship and sexual activity while on duty. The activity occurred between 10 and 15 times, according to the disciplinary order.
• “Neglect of duty” for “disconnecting (the) computer GPS at times while on duty to conceal (his) real location in the county to other officers and dispatch.”
• “Misuse of department equipment” by picking up a woman while on duty to participate in sexual activities.
• Violating the ride along policy by picking up the woman while on duty without approval or knowledge of department leadership and for not having the passenger sign a ride-along waiver, subjecting the county to potential liability concerns.
One of the people who publicly shared the documents online this week is the woman named in Mounsey’s disciplinary order who engaged in the activities with Mounsey. Although her name had been redacted, Mercy Walker said she wants to help protect vulnerable women from men who abuse their positions of power.
She said Mounsey gained her trust in the spring of 2015 while he was investigating a domestic battery case she was involved in. While she said she takes full responsibility for her part in the activities — and there is much more to the situation than the documents outline, she said — she wants the public to know who is running for elected office while standing on a platform of truth and family values.
“The full truth should be known,” Walker said Friday.
She no longer lives in Wells County and has spent years rebuilding her life after a chapter that isn’t her favorite. But she’s walking in her truth, she said, and was inspired to go public with her experience and encourage personal responsibility.
“Bad behavior is bad behavior,” she said.
According to the disciplinary order, Mounsey’s temporary suspension followed an internal investigation and was “in lieu of a formal proceeding before the Wells County Sheriff’s Merit Board.” He was on leave without pay, prohibited from having contact with Walker, was required to complete marriage counseling, and agreed to resign if he violated any rules or regulations within six months of signing the order.
Although it was signed in April 2015, the suspension ran its course the following month to apparently allow for Mounsey to finish the school year as the school resource officer for Northern Wells Community Schools. According to News-Banner archives, he left that post after that school year and returned to road patrol for the sheriff’s department before later joining the Ossian force.
An attempt to reach Mounsey by phone Friday was unsuccessful.
jessica@news-banner.com
