Big Lake’s police chief, Matt Hayen, was recently put on paid administrative leave following a complaint against him that has led to an investigation by an entity yet identified.

The person who filed the complaint has also not been identified.

The Patriot reached out to City Administrator Clay Wilfhart of Big Lake for clarification on the two items above and the response for who is investigating Hayen was “I (Wilfhart) don’t believe I can comment on who the investigating entity is.” As for who the complainant is, Wilfhart said, “The identity of a complainant is private under state law unless disciplinary action occurs.”

The Patriot did verify that Sam Olson has been named Acting Chief while Hayen is absent.

We reached out to Chief Hayen and his attorney, Kelly Keegan of Keegan Law Offices, but have yet to get answers to questions asked.

The Patriot was informed of a previous investigation that involved the former Big Lake Police Chief, Joel Scharf. (Presuming the two investigations may be linked, we asked certain city officials, invested parties and players involved but have yet been able to tie the two investigations together). According to the informant, the former chief (Scharf) was investigated for election tampering by the BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), but they declined prosecution of criminal charges due to insufficient evidence. 

The Patriot has had some conversations with people allegedly involved in one or both of the investigations. A few have talked to us “off the record”, some have been limited in what they say, some have referred us to attorneys and some have been straight forward in their answers. Due to the fact the stories cannot be linked, we the Patriot decline to publish details of the Scharf investigation including the backstory.

Hayen was sworn in July 14th of this year after Scharf handed in his resignation in May after nine years in the position, citing health concerns after being diagnosed with PTSD. Hayen was appointed acting chief before he was sworn in this summer and has since gone on paid leave since Sept. 13.