Roger Morningstar, the former chief of the Morton Police Department who is under investigation for alleged sexual harassment and other complaints, has resigned from his position as state committeeman for the Lewis County Republican Party. 

Party Chairman Brandon Svenson confirmed Morningstar’s resignation in a text to a Chronicle reporter on Wednesday, Aug. 16. 

Morningstar, who was hired as Morton’s police chief in December of 2016, resigned from the Morton Police Department in lieu of termination on June 2 after he failed a polygraph exam conducted as part of an internal investigation into multiple complaints, according to previous Chronicle reporting.

A Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) investigation into complaints filed against Morningstar earlier this year turned up evidence Morningstar sexually harassed fellow employees and citizens at both the Morton Police Department and his previous police jobs, lied on his application to the Morton Police Department, misused public funds and mishandled an investigation into an attempted burglary by a registered sex offender. 

CJTC’s case involving Morningstar was still active as of Wednesday, Aug. 16. 

Read a previous article about the allegation against Morningstar here: https://www.chronline.com/stories/sexual-harassment-lies-and-misused-funds-claims-against-former-morton-police-chief-detailed-in,323105