CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — A board of current and former members of the Charleston Police Department will vote on former Police Chief James “Tyke” Hunt’s medical disability pension.
According to an agenda posted to the city of Charleston’s website, the four-person board will vote on the pension on June 21 at 1 p.m.
A member of the board, Charleston Police Department Secretary and former Sgt. James Duncan, gave insight on what the board will discuss.
The board will look at whether the injury was an on-duty or off-duty injury.
If it is considered an on-duty injury, they will receive 60% pay for the 12 months leading up to the injury, according to Duncan. The only way they could get less than 60% is if their pay exceeded 120% of the two years before the year looked at.
If it is an off-duty injury, they will still get 60% of last year’s pay, but if they make an additional income of $18,200, the amount of the pension will gradually decrease with the amount made in additional income, according to Duncan.
Since it is a four-person board, a tie is possible. Duncan says if it does tie, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin will break that tie.
In April 2024, Hunt was demoted and suspended following an investigation into him and Sgt. Richie Basford, according to the Charleston Police Department. Lt. Tony Hazelett with the department said Basford is back to full duty. According to Charleston Police Chief Scott Dempsey, his suspension ended on May 6 and was placed on medical leave after that.
The CPD said Hunt will now serve as a corporal after being demoted to lieutenant. He was chief of police from 2020 to 2023 after his predecessor, Opie Smith Jr., retired, according to the city of Charleston.
This all comes after two women formally filed complaints against former CPD Chief James “Tyke” Hunt alleging sexual misconduct. Hunt resigned on Aug. 18, 2023, citing personal and medical reasons, and Scott Dempsey was named interim chief. He has since been sworn in as the city’s police chief.
The first complaint came from Jennifer Harless and prompted an investigation by the West Virginia State Police. She is not a city employee but alleges that she and Hunt had a consensual sexual relationship and that Hunt launched an FBI investigation into her.
According to city attorney Kevin Baker, the FBI did investigate Jennifer Harless after Hunt’s wife complained that she was being harassed by Harless. However, the FBI said they became involved because they take all such complaints seriously, and that Hunt’s position as police chief did not influence the investigation.
In late August 2023, McCoy filed a complaint with the City of Charleston, alleging that she was pressured into having sex by then-Sergeant Tyke Hunt during her application process. She also alleges that she failed her polygraph test to be certified into the police force, but Hunt passed her anyway.
McCoy, who applied to be an officer in 2018, said on a local podcast, “Scoop Squad, Truth Squad,” that she had been worried about passing the polygraph exam due to her past drug use. She told Hunt about her concerns but did not mention the drugs. She said Hunt reassured her that she would pass. McCoy said she lied during the polygraph but was told by Hunt that she passed. She filed a lawsuit in March 2024 against Hunt.
In July, Charleston City Council member Shannon Snodgrass requested an independent investigation into Hunt, citing Harless’ complaint. Councilwoman Beth Kerns also said in August that an investigation needs to be conducted by those not under the command of Hunt to eliminate conflict of interest.
Charleston City Council voted 21-5 on Aug. 7, 2023, in opposition to opening an outside investigation into alleged misconduct by Police Chief Tyke Hunt.
Hunt said in an apology letter in July 2023 to the Charleston City Council that he “misused city property,” and was suspended without pay for three days in June 2022. Hunt was not specific about what property he misused.