According to an email sent to WCSO staff from Webster County Sheriff Luke Fleener, Deputy Tom Steck submitted his resignation on Thursday, effective immediately. Steck was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 9, 2022, pending an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation into allegations of criminal activity and misconduct.

According to the email from Fleener, the WCSO received a summary report of the DCI investigation in June that included the allegations against Steck and that no criminal charges will be filed against him. Almost all of the allegations occurred while Steck was employed with the Fort Dodge Police Department, the Sheriff wrote. Prior to Steck’s hire at the WCSO, he was a detective with the FDPD.

First reported by The Messenger on June 20, Steck, Fleener and Chief Deputy Derek Christie were named in a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission by former Deputy Amy Stringer, who alleged she faced retaliation and was eventually forced to resign because she had made the initial complaints that triggered the investigation into Steck.

Stringer’s initial complaint to the Division of Criminal Investigation alleged that Steck was involved in criminal activity, namely “covering up for an informant by providing him with a fake alibi” and “beating a person in custody without cause.”

In the complaint to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Stringer wrote that throughout her time working with Steck, she witnessed his “inappropriate and illegal behavior.” She gave specific examples, including an allegation that Steck would make Stringer drive by a female colleague’s house “because Steck wanted to stalk her.”

Stringer wrote that this made her very uncomfortable, but because she believed Steck angered easily and would allegedly often get angry and yell and throw or slam things, she went along with it.

“I feared him,” Stringer wrote.

The Sheriff wrote in the email to WCSO employees that on July 19, he and Christie began an administrative investigation into Steck’s possible policy violation and they informed Steck that under Iowa law, they had 10 days — or until July 28 — to give him a conclusion to the investigation. Fleener also wrote that he and Christie first learned of what the allegations against Steck were and who else was involved when he received the summary report from the DCI last month.

However, Stringer alleges in her civil rights complaint that Webster County Attorney Darren Driscoll had previously informed the Sheriff of the allegations against Steck that had been reported to the DCI and that the complainants were four women. Stringer wrote that because very few women work in the sheriff’s office, it was “not very difficult” to figure out who complained.

“Sheriff Fleener made it known that Steck is ‘out to get the people responsible for this investigation,'” Stringer wrote. “After Fleener determined who the complainants were, I was a target.”

According to the email Fleener sent to WCSO staff Thursday, on June 17, he and Christie “began an examination of our own policies and procedures to determine if there were violations that were applicable to this summary report and to the civil rights complaint filed by Amy Stringer.” A month later, on July 19, they initiated the administrative investigation into Steck and conducted an interview with him. Steck resigned on Thursday, before the investigation had concluded, and thus the resignation was not given in lieu of termination.

Steck’s resignation will be submitted to the Webster County Board of Supervisors on their agenda for their upcoming meeting on Tuesday.

“This has been a stressful incident and at times made awkward moments with our law enforcement partners at the Fort Dodge Police Department,” Fleener concluded in his email to WCSO staff. “It is our hope that we can move forward from this and continue our close partnership of working together for the citizens of Fort Dodge and Webster County.”