COLUMBUS - More than 40 pages of documentation were released by the Columbus Police Department on Tuesday regarding the investigation of Columbus Fire Department members Bill Kluetzman and Doug Landphier.

The two were each placed on administrative leave with pay on June 15 by Columbus Mayor Nancy Osterhaus. According to the documents, Osterhaus accused the two of removing donated shovels from the fire department. At the time Kluetzman was acting fire chief and Landphier a firefighter.

She also asked Interim Police Chief Lt. Dennis Weiner to conduct an investigation.   

No criminal charges have been filed as a result of the investigation, and as of Dec. 23, Kluetzman and Landphier were cleared to go back to the Columbus Fire Department. Kluetzman is no longer acting fire chief.

The shovels in question were donated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, according to Weiner's report. The report states that Kluetzman thought the shovels should remain with the fire department for use in filling sandbags and that he had told Landphier to move them.

Osterhaus said on Tuesday that "about a dozen" shovels were involved, and that they were intended to be distributed to and kept by those who had flood damaged homes.

"They were donated to the city for flood victims," she said. "They were given to be distributed to flood victims. They had been removed and hidden."

According to the press release issued on Dec. 23, "Mr. Kluetzman was issued a written disciplinary warning for his conduct." Landphier was not issued a reprimand.

The records released on Tuesday did not contain Kluetzman's written warning or anything related to either being placed back on active duty.

Osterhaus said Tuesday that she called for an investigation of Kluetzman because, "I thought it was serious and it should be investigated."

Kluetzman said that he is unable to comment and referred comments to his attorney, Bruce Ehlke of Hawks, Quindel, Ehlke and Perry, SC in Madison.

 "It was very long," Ehlke said of the report. "What struck me was the pettiness of it. A substantial majority of it was trying to determine whether (Kluetzman) had contact with any firefighters."

Ehlke was referring to conditions of Kluetzman and Landphier's administrative leave that specified they should not talk to anyone about the investigation or contact any member of the fire department.

"At the very beginning of this process, Kluetzman was told not to have any contact with any firefighters," Ehlke said. "He didn't even know what the charges were until the very end of the process."

"They both were re-instated," Ehlke said of Kluetzman and Landphier. "I would have been surprised if that had not been the result given the results of the investigation."

"At some point during the course of the investigation, it was clear that the focus was on whether Kluetzman and Landphier had had contact with other firefighters and that was not a criminal act. Yet the mayor continued to talk about criminal conduct, and she should have known better. And that raises questions of defamation," Ehlke said.

The Columbus Fire Department has been without a permanent chief since October of 2005, except for roughly three months in 2007 when Chris Lyons served as chief. Kluetzman was the acting fire chief for the rest of that time until he was placed on leave.

Mark Kenevan has been filling the role since then.