Two former Lincoln Police recruits were dismissed from the department's police academy in November after they admitted to cheating on an exam, according to public records and police officials.
Dalton Bell and Ethan Bruha, who were among 19 recruits to join the department in July 2022, were dismissed Nov. 9 for misconduct and ethics violations, according to change-in-status forms LPD filed with the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center.
At a Citizen Police Advisory Board meeting last week, Internal Affairs Sgt. Derek Dittman said two recruits — who he did not identify by name — viewed a physical copy of an upcoming exam before taking it.
Five additional recruits who "observed the cheating in some form" failed to notify academy instructors or supervisors, Dittman said.
Investigators sustained complaints of academic dishonesty against those seven recruits after Police Chief Teresa Ewins ordered an internal investigation into the conduct of more than half of the academy class, Dittman told board members last week.
Four recruits from the class were exonerated by investigators, Dittman said. The complaint against another recruit was not sustained, but the recruit wasn't explicitly exonerated.
In an email, Assistant Police Chief Michon Morrow declined to detail the events that led to the two recruits' dismissal, but clarified that the five recruits who witnessed the cheating only saw "a portion of the event which didn’t allow them to form a conclusion" of what was happening.
Morrow said the five recruits weren't disciplined for failing to come forward, but that department officials used the investigation into the academy class as a learning experience for each recruit.
"We would expect a report to a supervisor in events where something seems off or not right," she said.
Bell and Bruha were in the class that started the police academy last July with an expected graduation date in December. Sixteen recruits ultimately graduated from the academy.
In a phone interview, Bell declined to discuss the details of he and Bruha's academic dishonesty but said he left the academy without bitterness toward the police department.
"All the police officers that did graduate, I'm very, very proud of," he said. "I hope nothing but the best in their careers.
"I have nothing negative to say to LPD," he added. "I have nothing but positive things to say, even in regards to the (academic dishonesty) situation. I'm very, very proud of what I did at LPD. I learned a lot."
He said he was grateful for his time in the academy and that he intends to pursue a career in law enforcement elsewhere in Nebraska.
Bruha did not respond to messages seeking comment.