More than 50 complaints were lodged against Bismarck police officers in 2007, but evidence only backed up three of the grievances from the public.

Chief Keith Witt on Monday said that six of the 52 complaints were of a serious nature and resulted in internal affairs investigations. Out of the six serious complaints, five resulted in officers being exonerated from wrongdoing.

One of the six serious complaints led to an officer suspension. Officer Kyle Gebhardt was suspended for 40 hours without pay for making inappropriate comments of a sexual nature while on duty, Lt. Randy Ziegler said. Ziegler conducts internal affairs investigations for the department.

Witt said Gebhardt was suspended, not terminated, after the chief looked into the incident, Gebhardt's prior history and other relevant factors. Gebhardt also had to undergo corrective training and will be required to attend periodic retraining, Witt said.

Ziegler said two of the other complaints also were sustained, meaning a preponderance of the evidence backed up the citizen complaints. Both of those complaints were handled by higher-ranking officers than the officers accused in the complaints. Ziegler did not have the names of the officers involved in those complaints.

In one instance, a complainant felt that an officer was more concerned about getting off of work in a timely manner than in taking a police report. The officer was talked to by a sergeant about the need to be more aware of community needs.

In the other instance, a citizen complained that no officer ever showed up to take a report that he had called into the department. The duty commander said he had forgotten to enter the incident into the computer system, meaning officers were unaware the report needed to be taken. He was talked to by a deputy chief about the incident.

Of the 52 complaints lodged against the police department, officers were exonerated 30 times and 19 complaints were considered "not sustained," which means there was insufficient evidence to prove or disprove allegations.

Witt said he was taking the unusual step of informing the public about the complaints against the department in an effort to keep citizens abreast of the department's standards.

"I just think it's important for the citizens to know what's happening at the police department - the good things and the not so good things," he said.

The department relies on citizen complaints to find out when there are problems, either with officers or with department policies, the chief said.

"That's the only way we can make our operations better," he said.

He said the department wants to be sure they have the trust of the public so people don't think the officers are abusing the authority they are given.

"Inquiries or concerns of citizens may often be resolved with an explanation of the standard procedures followed by officers or by providing a more detailed explanation of the circumstances involved in the situation in question," Witt said. "However, a complete and thorough investigation will be conducted as necessary."

Serious complaints against officers are investigated by Ziegler, unless the allegations involve criminal activity on the part of an officer, at which time the complaints are referred to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Less-serious complaints usually are investigated by supervising officers.

Disciplinary actions officers can face if complaints against them are found to be supported by evidence include training or counseling, reprimand, suspension from duty without pay, termination from the department and criminal prosecution.

The 52 complaints in 2007 came about while officers handled 30,771 calls for service, made 2,689 arrests, conducted 13,685 traffic stops resulting in 10,877 traffic citations, issued 10,154 parking tickets and investigated 3,149 traffic wrecks, Witt said.

"We're talking about tenths of a percent of incidents that led to a complaint," he said.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)