Tabor City Sign
Photo courtesy of the city of Tabor website.

(Tabor) -- Tabor's former police chief is responding to allegations made against him leading up to his recent termination.

Recently, Derek Aistrope was terminated following an outside firm's investigation into his handling of a 2023 structure fire at 506 New Street. Tabor City Council members backed the outside investigation after concerns were brought forward in April by Tabor resident Andy Hansen, who works for a separate law enforcement agency. Speaking at a recent council meeting for the first time since his dismissal, Aistrope called the termination process unfair, and said he never had a chance to defend himself.

"Tonight is not a pre-disciplinary hearing it is a post disciplinary moment after the vote after the headlines and after the consequences were already imposed," Aistrope said.

Aistrope also defended his handling of the arson fire's investigation.

"The documented timeline shows that I acted promptly provided all available evidence and completed the charging action within the legally required time frame," Aistrope said.

Aistrope added the council's decision to terminate him came without a formal hearing beforehand. Audio with Derek Aistrope for this story is courtesy of KMTV, Channel 3 in Omaha. In a recent interview with KMA News, Tabor Mayor Devin Juel says the city felt the claims warranted further investigation by an independent party.

"We just wanted to look into those concerns and try to verify information about what may be true or not," said Juel. "We want to make sure we're looking out for our employees, our city, our town, and making sure everything is okay."

Last month, the city announced Mills County would provide law enforcement services to the community through a 28-E agreement effective August 1. Previously, the city contracted with the Fremont County Sheriff's Office to provide law enforcement services for when Tabor's police chief wasn't on duty, but the agreement expired at the end of last month. No further action was taken by the council at last Wednesday's meeting.