Five months later, Selby signs separation agreement

Mayor says no non-disclosure agreement signed

 

IMLAY CITY — A stand-off that has lasted nearly six months, with neither side budging on making an attempt to resolve personnel and personal issues between Imlay City and a former police chief, has resulted in the separation from employment for Brett Selby.

Although some believed a non-disclosure agreement had been made between the two sides, Mayor Barbara Yockey told the Tri-City Times last week, “the City of Imlay City has no non-disclosure agreement with any city employee.” She said that included former employees as well.

Selby had taken a personal leave from his duties as Chief last fall and ended up extending the leave through use of paid time off and utilizing the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

At the time, City Manager Craig Horton, who oversees operations for the police department, hedged when asked why Selby was gone.

“It was his decision,” Horton told the Tri-City Times last fall. “It was no action the city took. He came in and asked for time off, like anyone else would and we granted the request.”

Neither side would make a formal statement, but it is well known that an incident that took place during the Eastern Michigan State Fair in July of 2025 led to a series of actions being taken.

Police officers attempted to take a North Branch teenager into custody, after discovering he had allegedly been drinking and was what officers called “extremely intoxicated.”

Sometime following the incident along S. Almont Ave., near the fairgrounds entry gate, Chief Selby was made aware of an incident with officers and the teen while trying to take the male subject into custody.

It has been alleged by the teen, officers used excessive force, including alleged deployment of a taser gun.

Selby initiated an investigation into the matter involving the departments’ officers and quickly requested Michigan State Police take over the investigation, due to the sensitive nature involving Imlay City Police Department staff.

Following a lengthy MSP investigation, charges were handed down from Lapeer County Prosecutor John Miller, charging one Imlay City officer with a felony and a second officer with a misdemeanor.

The two officers involved in the incident are facing upcoming court appearances, answering to their charges.

Throughout the investigation, Selby remained on leave but was not involved in the fairground incident.

He requested at least one time, to return to his position and no action was taken by Horton or the commission on the request.

After a period of time, with Selby still on leave, Horton made the decision to bring an Interim Chief on staff for the PD and hired Charles Rushton, previously of the Warren Police Department.

The action of hiring Rushton was never brought to the commission for approval.

Under Selby’s leadership, Imlay City developed a downtown district policy for the consumption of alcohol within a specified area. He also came up with a succession plan that developed policy and procedure for the department looking into the future.

He, along with Fire Chief Keith Klobucar, had spearheaded a drive to deal with on-going blight and other ordinance violations of businesses in the downtown district of Imlay City, including vacant buildings that were not up to various codes.

However, since Selby has been gone, that initiative appears to have fallen by the wayside.