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City, N.D. – City officials accuse Former Police Chief Dean Ross of bending the truth over a sale of police weapons dating back to January 2005 involving Valley City Police Association funds.

The city discovered the money in a safe in Ross’ office as he and city officials were cleaning it out last month. 

Former Police Chief Dean Ross told WDAY news on November 9th that officials from the City were aware that he held $4,000 of money belonging to the Valley City Police Association in his office safe for almost 7 years without giving it back to the association. He stated that the city approved the check, had a copy of the invoice and knew he was holding the money for “special occasions and safekeeping”, but “if they forgot, that is their problem”.

According to city commissioner Jon Wagar, what city officials DID know was that in January 2005, the City paid for a portion of the cost for new service weapons for the police department with the Valley City Police Association paying $4,400 as 11 officers were going to purchase the weapons.

Wagar says, No city official, other than Ross was aware of or involved in the transactions between the individual officers when they purchased the weapons or how or where the money to reimburse the Association was handled in or subsequent to 2005.

Police Association members, when contacted about the discovery of the funds in the office safe of Ross on October 27th, indicated they had no knowledge that Ross had possession of those funds. Those contacted included David Swenson, the president at the time of the 2005 transaction, Andrea Suhr, the secretary/treasurer in 2005, and Doug Kiefert, the current president of the Association. Swenson stated he only became aware that the funds were in the safe approximately 2 weeks prior to it being opened by city officials and the agent from the ND Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Wagar says, former City Administrator Jon Cameron stated that it was ludicrous for Ross to publicly claim that city officials approved a check written by the police association and had any knowledge that Ross personally retained the $4,000 of Police Association funds in his office safe for almost 7 years.

Cameron stated “this is just another example of Ross bending the truth about his years of financial mismanagement to suit his own needs and version of the events as he wants them portrayed. The best place to keep the funds of the Police Association would have been in the existing bank accounts under the control of the members of the association, not in someone’s safe for 7 years.”