Former Nebraska police chief sentenced for misusing $14,000 in public funds

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A former Nebraska police chief will serve 60 days behind bars as part of his federal sentence for misusing public funds.

Former Oakland Police Chief Terry Poland, 34, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court after pleading guilty in April, according to a Wednesday release from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson sentenced Poland to three years of probation, specifying that 60 days of that time had to be spent in prison.

Last year, the Nebraska State Auditor issued a 34-page report saying Oakland Police Chief Terry Poland misused $14,631 from February 2020 to January 2021 to buy things for himself and his family using 27 gift cards purchased with city funds.

“Poland purchased among other things women’s and children’s clothing, an ice fishing house, an auger, fishing equipment, and a basketball backboard,” the U.S. Attorney’s report states.

In June 2022, an auditor questioned Poland’s use of public funds and requested the Oakland City Clerk to get receipts from Poland, who claimed the gift cards were used to purchase ammunition for the police department. Poland gave the City Clerk five receipts, which reportedly showed the purchase of ammo, but the Attorney’s Office says the receipts were fake and didn’t match store records.

The purchases were mostly made at stores in Nebraska, but the report says that at least one of the purchases was made online.

Poland has since paid the misused funds back via restitution. He also surrendered his law enforcement certification and has agreed he will not work as a law enforcement officer in the future.

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Correction: A previous version of this story contain an inaccurate total for the probation portion of the sentence. 6 News regrets the error.

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