A reckless motorcyclist, fearful of losing his license, was speeding down Diamond Lake Road in Rogers, with police Capt. Mike Miller in hot pursuit.

Up ahead Officer Mike Hayen positioned his squad car, with lights flashing, to block the motorcycle's progress at the intersection with Commerce Boulevard.

Versions of what happened next on that morning last July have caused an upheaval in the fast-growing city of 7,500. Both officers were investigated, and Hayen remains on leave, amid concerns that deadly force was used inappropriately and not disclosed.

Then last month, Rogers Police Chief Jeff Luther and Sgt. Joleen Pitts, neither of whom was involved in the incident, were put on paid administrative leave for undisclosed complaints filed against them.

That action against Luther and Pitts prompted city police commission chair Scott Adams to resign in disgust last week. "What this council has allowed to be done to these two fine individuals is disgusting, revolting and something I hope you all rot in hell for," Adams said at a City Council meeting.

What happened the morning of the chase, according to a witness and the cyclist, is that Hayen suddenly moved his car into the path of the speeding motorcycle.

That action is significant because it violates state rules against police using deadly force except in extraordinary, life-threatening circumstances.

Cyclist Dustin Taylor, braking for the impact, hit the squad and flew over it, leaving handprints on the hood before he tumbled into grass, injuring his knee. Taylor, now 21, later pleaded guilty. He conceded he was in the wrong, but that Hayen caused the crash.

The witness, David Running, volunteered to make a statement and was told someone would contact him.

No one did.

Miller, named acting chief in Luther's absence, and Hayen make no mention of a witness or the squad car's movement in their reports of the incident.

Word of the squad's movement might not have come to light at all without a chance conversation at a police open house in late August.

80 mph before the crash

The crash scene is just east of Interstate 94 and Hwy. 101, the busy gateway through Rogers for Twin Cities commuters and vacation-bound travelers.

It was 5:40 a.m. on July 1 and Taylor was speeding on his 2008 bronze Suzuki. Miller tracked him at 64 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone and followed. When Taylor noticed the squad car, he accelerated to about 80 mph, Miller's report said. Miller gave chase with lights on and siren blaring.

Running, on his way to work, pulled over on South Diamond when he saw a squad car, with lights flashing, screech to a stop in the intersection ahead. He then saw the motorcycle coming from behind, with another squad car in pursuit.

Running said Hayen's squad was parked in the middle of three lanes. As the motorcycle tried to go around it on the right, the officer waited until the last moment and drove into its path.

"The timing couldn't have been more perfect" to cut off the motorcycle, Running said.

Hayen and Miller, in their reports, said the squad was parked in the right lane and the motorcycle ran into it.

Taylor refused medical treatment at the scene.

In an interview this week, he said, "As soon as I saw him move, I hit both brakes and braced for impact." He said he was fleeing because he feared losing his license for speeding.

"I know I was in the wrong," Taylor said, but it was "reckless" for the officer to pull in front "for someone who was just speeding."

Open house talk reopens case

The squad's movement before the crash came to light when Running took his son to a police open house on Aug. 26. He mentioned to Pitts that he had seen the crash. Pitts relayed what Running told her to Luther, a 28-year veteran at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Luther, chief of the 14-member department, directed that Running be interviewed on Sept. 10. Afterward he asked the city to hire an independent investigator to look into the case.

On Nov. 29, the city put Hayen on paid administrative leave. Miller was not put on leave.

The results of the city's investigation into Hayen and Miller is private. On Jan. 11, Luther presented it in a closed City Council meeting that included newly elected Mayor Jason Grimm and two new council members. Sources familiar with the proceeding say Luther laid out a case that Hayen and Miller be fired.

The council took no action.

Miller's attorney, Phil Villaume, said Miller "handled the motorcycle incident in a professional manner and has been cleared by the city of any wrongdoing," adding that Miller has an "outstanding reputation as an officer."

Hayen could not be reached for comment.

Put on leave in retaliation?

On Feb. 10, Luther and Pitts were put on paid administrative leave for undisclosed reasons. Acquaintances of Luther say it is in retaliation for trying to hold the officers accountable for misconduct. The Sherburne County Sheriff's Department is reportedly investigating the cases.

Miller, now acting chief, said in a statement that he has no plans to be a candidate for the chief's job.

The city's actions floored Diane Karnitz, a Brooklyn Park detective who has known Luther and Pitts for much of their careers.

"There's nobody that has more integrity than either of them as far as I'm concerned," she said. Others in law enforcement who know them "are just shaking their heads and knowing that this is an injustice, and amazed that something like that can happen in 2011."

The previous Rogers City Council recruited Luther in late 2008 after he left a long unblemished BCA career, said Mike Murphy, operations supervisor at North Memorial Ambulance who has known Luther for 35 years.

"They were looking for a chief that would break away from small-town, good-old-boy, pat-on-the-back philosophy of the past" and run the department more professionally, he said.

Pitts has a 20-year career with a "spotless disciplinary history," said her attorney, Chris Wachtler. She worked on Champlin's force before joining the Rogers department in 2005. Last year she received a meritorious award for successfully dealing with a suicidal person without any use of force.

Three former City Council members who hired Luther say charges against him and Pitts are "trumped up" and retaliation for "doing the right thing" in investigating Hayen and Miller, who is godfather of the mayor's daughter.

Mayor Grimm issued a statement that no City Council members or city staff may discuss the ongoing investigations.

Supporters of Luther and Pitts said Tuesday that they are organizing a petition drive to demand their reinstatement.

Tom Meersman • 612-673-7388