MICHIGAN CITY, IN. (THECOUNT) — Michigan City, Indiana Mayor Ron Meer, has been charged with five felony counts of intimidation, two counts of false informing and felony misconduct over a recent dispute between him and his city’s police department, court records show.
Meer, 55, engaged in a dispute with the police department that began after the recent arrest of the mayor’s stepson on drug charges – an arrest that Meer claims was politically motivated, according to local reports.
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Shortly after police Chief Mark Swistek and two assistant chiefs resigned, with Swistek alleging the mayor had ordered him to pull an unspecified number of officers out of the department’s anti-drug task force. A new police chief was named Tuesday. After Meer was charged, the judge assigned to his case recused himself because his wife works as corporate council for the city, reports FoxNews on Saturday morning.
Crime has been an issue in the Michigan City mayoral election, say reports.
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Geo quick facts: Michigan City is on the south shore of Lake Michigan, in Indiana. The Old Lighthouse Museum has exhibits on local maritime history and shipwrecks, and offers tours of the nearby 1858 Michigan City Lighthouse. Washington Park has a rock garden and gazebo, plus a beach. Washington Park Zoo is home to tigers, wolves, alligators and grizzly bears. The grand Barker Mansion is a 19th-century merchant’s home – wikipedia.