By Cassondra Kirby

A board made up of city police and law officials met behind closed doors today to discuss the cases of six officers who have been administratively charged for content and postings they made on the popular Web site MySpace.com.

The six officers — Gene Haynes, Joshua Cromer, Aaron Noel, Richard Sisk, Adam O’Quinn and Paul Stewart — were present for the meeting along with their supervisors, said Maj. Mike Bosse, commander of internal affairs and chairman of the disciplinary board. The meeting lasted more than four hours.

Bosse said the board made discipline recommendations in each of the officers’ cases. Although he could not release the specifics of the recommendations, Bosse said punishment can include anything from a written reprimand to termination.

The board will forward its recommendations to Police Chief Anthany Beatty, who can accept or adjust them. Beatty will then present his discipline to each officer, probably within the next couple of weeks.

The officer can accept Beatty’s decision or reject it. Rejecting the decision would send the case to the Urban County Council for a hearing. If the council finds the officer’s conduct improper, members would decide on the punishment.

“The board carefully considered all the aspects of each individual case and made recommendations based on evidence and the officer’s response to the questions,” Bosse said. “I think the board was professionally conducted with the interest of the public as well as the rights of the officers in mind.”

The six officers could not be reached for comment or did not return phone calls today.

The police department began investigating the MySpace.com Web sites on March 20, when another police officer informed a supervisor about the sites. That officer was “very disturbed” by some of the content on the Web pages, Beatty said.

On the Web pages, officers discussed their jobs, commented on arrests they had made and used derogatory language about gays and the mentally disabled. Officers said they worked for the “snobby people of Lexington” or the “Lexington Fayette Urban Communist Gov. PD.” Many of the pages featured Lexington police badges or photos of officers in uniform.

Lexington Mayor Teresa Isaac could not be reached for comment today.

On March 29, Haynes and Cromer were relieved of sworn duties with pay, meaning they may not make arrests until the disciplinary process is completed. They continue to work for the police department but turned in their badges, police cars and weapons. The other four continue to work as arresting officers as disciplinary proceedings continue.

The six were administratively charged with violations including interfering with a criminal case, acting in a way that does not reflect favorably on the division, and breaking guidelines that officers are required to follow when making public statements.

Police officials did not elaborate on why Cromer and Haynes were relieved of their sworn duties, but Cromer’s Web site was particularly controversial because of content relating to Cromer’s arrest of country music star John Michael Montgomery.

Montgomery was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in February. On Cromer’s site, officers discussed the case and congratulated Cromer on such a high-profile arrest. His site also included an altered photograph — posted by Haynes — of Montgomery and a fan, in which Cromer’s face had been placed on the body of the fan.

Cromer’s page, along with many of the other officers’ pages, has since been deactivated.

Reach Cassondra Kirby at (859) 231-3266 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3266, or ckirby@herald-leader.com.