Officials dispute need for standard in hiring police
KIRKERSVILLE
-- Local legislators say concerns about police officers with histories of
misconduct transferring agencies as detailed in a March 25 Advocate report are
not widespread and do not warrant a statewide solution.
"Local
governments have their own charters," said state Rep. Jay Hottinger,
R-Newark. "They don't like the state coming in and dictating to them
what's important."
Under
Ohio law, peace officers' certifications can be revoked if they plead guilty to
a felony offense -- which can range from drug possession to murder -- or to a
reduced charge as part of a plea agreement and surrender their certification.
Two
Kirkersville police officers were fired from previous posts for misconduct but
remain certified. A Buckeye Lake police officer charged with impaired driving
remains certified.
But
state Rep. Bill Hayes, R-Harrison Township, said the additional bureaucracy of
a statewide standard for hiring police isn't the answer. Local agencies have to
do their due diligence, he said.
"I
just don't think there's an easy way to have a list of people to look out
for," Hayes said.
Sometimes
officers are fired because of personality conflicts with their supervisors, and
they should not be blacklisted for that, he added.
Even
without a state-imposed sanction, there are consequences for employing
problematic officers: Elected officials who hired them might not be re-elected,
Hayes said.
"It's
a bad reflection on the community," Hottinger said.
Hottinger
said he'd be willing to speak with police chiefs and unions to see if fired
officers switching departments is a problem, but it hasn't been brought to his
attention previously.
"One
is too many," he said. "(But) I don't think there is any epidemic
problem."
State
Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, declined comment because of a busy schedule, a
spokeswoman said.
The
conduct cited in the March Advocate articles was the topic of some discussion
at Wednesday night's Kirkersville Village Council meeting.
Village
Councilwoman Carolyn Woods responded to resident Aaron Evans' concerns about
the rising citations by saying the department increased the number of officers,
and she sees many speeders on U.S. 40.
Several
residents expressed appreciation for the department's work on a recent burglary
on Channel Street. No charges had been filed in connection with the incident as
of Friday.
Kirkersville
Mayor Terry Ashcraft declined to comment Wednesday about documentation,
provided by The Advocate on March 19, that Kirkersville Police Chief James
Chapman and Sgt. Derek Abner were terminated from previous posts at Mount
Sterling and Springboro police departments, respectively.
Ashcraft
said he did not know about any previous firings in a March 19 interview with
The Advocate.
In job
applications, Chapman wrote he left Mount Sterling police because of a pay
reduction, school and a long commute. Abner cited the reason for leaving
Springboro police was a "probationary release."
The personnel records were
requested by The Advocate on March 12, dated March 30 and delivered Tuesday.
Two additional records requests, made March 14 and March 28, have yet to be
fulfilled
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
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Misconduct.