It all started with a pat on the back from the Chief of Police who praised the work of one of his employees at the end of the city council meeting. Nothing to worry about I thought. But Chief Agner stammered a bit and then broke into unabashed praise for his wife, Sgt. Heidi Agner.

The Chief started, “Normally I don’t do this. It is going to be a little odd because it’s somewhat nepotism related. But I really would like to recognize Sgt. Heidi Agner. Sgt. Agner …who through a great deal of diligence, who for well over a year, has been working a very, very complex investigation. Only because of...