Holly Hill police officer suspended for insulting invitation

A Holly Hill police investigator was suspended without pay Friday after sending an offensive invitation that appeared in a city calendar.

Investigator Michael Ballentine sent the invitation as the department was already under investigation for “inappropriate incidents” and had accepted the resignations of its former police chief and a senior officer. A third senior officer has since resigned.

According to an internal investigation, Ballentine was given a 40-hour disciplinary suspension on Friday.

Ballentine was off duty when he used his personal email address to send three female city employees an invitation to a meeting named after a city employee. Ballentine sent the email to the employees’ city email addresses.

In the invitation, Ballentine wrote: “We will get her drunk and give her sex … but not in that order,” the request and a copy of the post say.

Once one of the city employees accepted the invitation, it appeared on the internal calendar of the City of Holly Hill. The City Calendar is an official public document and is used by all city employees.

Ballentine was sentenced to a 40-hour disciplinary suspension without pay, according to an investigation by Mark D. Barker, the city’s former police chief who is serving as interim police administrator.

“I gave Investigator Ballentine some good old-fashioned advice,” Barker said in a telephone interview. “I think he learned from a stupid mistake. I think he can restore his career and move on. This was an isolated incident. There is no evidence that he behaved in this way before or since, and I don’t expect he will.”

The city’s human resources director interviewed the three employees who received Ballentine’s Google invitation. Each of them is a civilian employee of the police department.

Each of them said it was taken as a “joke,” the investigation said. They said no actual event took place. And they “orally confirmed that they are happy with Inv. Ballentine as a colleague and can continue to work with him even after this incident.”

None of them reported receiving inappropriate messages from Ballentine before or after May 25, the investigation said.

Ballentine will serve three days of his suspension next week and two days the following week, Barker said.

In the investigation, Barker wrote: “Inv. Ballentine’s offensive and unacceptable misconduct in this matter has brought great shame upon himself, this agency, and the City of Holly Hill.”

He said the matter would be considered resolved once Ballentine successfully completed the suspension.

He was warned that further problems could lead to his dismissal.

Ballentine has been with the Holly Hill Police Department for 9 1/2 years. He makes $28.08 an hour and is assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division.

Separate internal investigation at the problem Holly Hill Police Department

The calendar incident is just the latest blemish on the crisis-ridden department.

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office conducted an internal investigation of the police department and submitted its report to City Manager Joe Forte.

Forte has not yet released the report, citing Florida law, which requires the report not to be released until a disciplinary decision has been made.

But Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood recently commented on the report to WFTV-9.

“It’s pretty shocking that the leadership of a police organization would engage in this kind of behavior,” Chitwood told WFTV-9, without providing further details.

Police Chief Jeff Miller was the first to leave the department, resigning on March 15 while the investigation was still ongoing.

Captain Chris Yates resigned on May 23.

Sergeant Shannon Fountain submitted his resignation on Wednesday. Forte said the resignation is effective immediately.

Sergeant Tom Bentley was suspended with pay on April 3, but Forte wrote Thursday that Bentley was back on duty and awaiting disciplinary proceedings, which are currently underway.

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