An Iowa State University Police Department sergeant was terminated, and a lieutenant resigned, following five months of paid leave.

The internal investigation concluded that Sgt. Adam Choat and Lt. Andy Klein each violated multiple university policies, including Choat violating the non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy.

Prior to their combined 218 days of paid leave, the two ranking officers worked together on the second of three field service shifts, according to an organizational chart last updated June 4. Both have been removed from ISUPD’s directory as of the publication of this article.

Choat’s separation letter, dated July 26, stated the decision to terminate his employment was due to a violation of Iowa State’s non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy and ISUPD’s code of conduct.

Klein resigned July 25, the same day his retroactive five-day suspension letter was dated. It stated a violation of the business and fiduciary conduct policy as the reason for the disciplinary action. He was last paid 20 days after resigning on Aug. 14 as reimbursement for his remaining vacation time.

Both letters also stated the two ranking officers violated Iowa State’s smoke-free campus policy. The policy was enacted in 2008 to comply with the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, passed in the same year.

Under Iowa Code chapter 22.7(11), a police department must provide reasoning in the event an officer is fired or resigns in lieu of termination.

ISUPD Chief Michael Newton directed the Daily’s request for comment on the investigation to Angie Hunt, Iowa State’s spokesperson.

According to Hunt, the reason for Choat’s termination was due to the policy violations stated in the letter received by the Daily through a public records request.

Hunt’s email to the Daily also stated that Andy Klein resigned, but it was not in lieu of termination.

The four violated policies cover a wide range of topics, from misuse of university funds to unlawful discrimination. Hunt declined to specify what in the policies was violated.

During their time of paid leave, Klein had 106 days of paid leave while Choat had 112 days. In FY 2023, Klein earned $106,688 and Choat earned $91,539. Hunt declined to provide the rate of pay they received while on leave.

Fired third-generation Ames area officer now with Mitchellville PD

Choat was characterized in the Newton Daily News in 2018 as knowing he wanted to be a police officer at the age of 3. ISUPD’s chief told Inside Iowa State in 2022 that Choat was passionate about the department’s history because his father was an ISUPD officer and his grandfather was an Ames PD officer.

During ISUPD’s 105th anniversary in 2023, Choat told the Daily that it was partially his idea to celebrate the anniversary. At the time, he claimed the department’s “main goals and functions” and belief in community outreach efforts were what they were in 1918.

Choat worked in law enforcement for 17 years across six departments, all in Iowa. His longest tenure was with the Pleasant Hill Police Department, where he worked in different roles from 2006 to 2018 including public information officer and school resource officer (SRO) for the Southeast Polk Community School District.

According to Choat’s LinkedIn, after leaving Pleasant Hill, he worked both as an Iowa State Fair corporal and Baxter interim chief of police until 2020. At that time, he signed a four-year contract to be an SRO at the Prairie City Monroe (PCM) Community School District.

In September 2021, Choat joined ISUPD as a police officer. He and Officer Kaitlyn Boor were the 2021 recipients of the Department of Public Safety’s Lifesaving Award. In November of that year, Choat and Boor responded to a welfare check on a student and were able to “deescalate what could have been a more volatile and potentially fatal incident,” according to the award’s description.

Choat was promoted to sergeant in February 2023.

In August, after his firing from ISUPD, Choat became a police sergeant in Mitchellville, Iowa, located in eastern Polk County with a population of around 2,500. The mayor of Mitchellville, Jessica Trobaugh, did not respond to an email requesting comment.

Resigned lieutenant still licensed as officer in Iowa

Klein began in law enforcement in 2006 with the Iowa State Patrol before graduating from Grand View University in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, according to an interview he gave to the Carroll Broadcasting Company in 2017.

He continued to work with the Iowa State Patrol until 2017 when Klein began as police chief of Coon Rapids, Iowa. The city has a population of around 1,300 and is located in Carroll and Gutherie counties, more than 60 miles west of Ames.

In April 2022, Klein resigned as police chief and began working for ISUPD.

According to records from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, Klein is currently licensed to be a peace officer in Iowa but the Daily was unable to confirm if he is working for another department.