11 Investigates: The law enforcement shuffle – How problem officers get hired again and again despite track records of bad behavior
Examination of a state database indicates hundreds of officers get hired in new cities after being forced out of departments for bad behavior.
When law enforcement officers run afoul of the law themselves and lose their jobs because of it, most Ohio citizens might expect that such a record would make it hard for the officers to find work again with new departments.
In fact, many problem officers bounce from one department to the next despite troubled work histories that include alleged spousal abuse or excessive use of force on the job, for instance.
In some cases, their new departments are well aware of previous issues and hire the officers anyway. In many cases, Ohio departments are not able to access records of a candidate's records before hiring them.
In recent years Ohio has sought to address this problem by improving the database of officer misconduct records maintained by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.
In November, Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office oversees OPOTA, announced a commitment to transparency when it comes to records of the state’s police officers. The key to this was that his office was making changes to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy portal, which allows access to the database of records.
The portal now allows officer and department searches, along with training records of individual officers. But it also shows work history, including separation dates and reason for that separation.
Shortly after Yost’s announcement, 11 Investigates began breaking down data in the portal, focusing on officers who left their jobs because of bad behavior and policy violations.
Since June 30, 2021, there have been at least 850 officers in the state who were forced to resign or retire. Of that total, more than 385 have been hired by other departments.
Prior to June 30, 2021, no reasons were given for separations. Now, all of that information is available to the public without making a records request.
“We wanted transparency," Yost told us. "There have been discussions for years about these gypsy cops. In one jurisdiction, they might have a bad use of force, or something that's not quite right, and rather than being fired, they resign and go work for somebody else. And the new jurisdiction had no idea that there was a problem with the guy."
Not surprisingly, we encountered plenty of what Yost called "gypsy cops" in our multi-month investigation.
Arrest goes bad in Sylvania Township
In June, 2022, Caitlin Taylor was making grocery deliveries in Sylvania Township. The Adrian woman’s car had an expired registration tag.
After pulling into a Parliament Square driveway, she noticed she had the wrong address and began backing up. She did not realize that Sylvania Township officers had been watching her and parked their car and began shouting commands at the woman.
Officer John Tanner can be heard on body cam footage from the incident shouting several commands. A confused Taylor at first sits in the car, puts her hands up, then gets out of the car and resists as the officers try to cuff her hands behind her back.
In an interview with 11 Investigates, Taylor said she didn’t understand why the officers were shouting at her or what she had done.
“I was completely lost and confused. He never told me he was an officer. I was thinking, ‘who is this person?’” Taylor said.
At one point, Taylor can be seen being thrown to the ground.
“One officer was holding my legs down and the other one put his knee on my chest. In doing so, he lifted up my shirt and that’s when I started screaming for help because I was terrified. That’s two grown me on top of me, my shirt lifted. I just…I was very scared,” Taylor said.
Last May, the woman filed a lawsuit against officers Tanner and Michael Wyatt and Sylvania Township, alleging excessive force and asking for $30 million. There have been several hearings, but no resolution.
Officials dropped the charges against Taylor.
“I had never seen anything so atrocious,” her attorney, Anthony Richardson, said after watching the video.
Sylvania Township Lt. Robert Austin had a different reaction. In his report to department leadership, he said there were no violations during the arrest. Once the township prosecutor dismissed the case, Austin was asked to review it again and, according to an internal report, Austin recommended that Tanner go through de-escalation training.
After an internal investigation, the recommendation to the chief was the following: “Due to all the facts listed in this report that documents a pattern of neglect of duty, unsatisfactory work performance, insubordination and dishonesty (untruthfulness), regrettably, I can make no other recommendation other than termination from the police department.”
On May 2, 2023, Austin retired from Sylvania Township. But that retirement came with a lengthy separation agreement: Key elements of it were that the disciplinary file would be kept separate from Austin’s personnel file and that neither side would speak to others about the investigation.
Hidden secrets
Months later, the village of Delta began searching for a new police chief and received an application from Austin. Along with a multitude of background and reference checks, officials asked Sylvania Township for Austin's file and were provided his personnel file, which contained nothing about any investigation into his job performance.
One of the references listed by Austin was John Tanner, the officer at the center of the lawsuit.
In addition, Delta officials checked the OPOTA portal to view his training and work history. In the notations for his Sylvania Township position, the reason for Austin's separation was listed as “Retirement,” not “Retirement – under investigation” or “Retirement in lieu of termination” – both options that were available. The form submitted to the state clearly shows “retirement in good standing” checked. But in the notes field, it adds, “retirement pending discipline.” There is nowhere in the portal to see what the notes say.
Delta City Administrator Andy Glenn was asked if he knew Austin had been under investigation before hiring him.
“No, not at all,” he said.
But he added that he has no regrets, that Austin has earned the respect of the department, officials, and residents. But after reviewing the internal investigation, Glenn took issue with the findings and Sylvania Township’s use of the OPOTA portal.
“Why did they check retirement in good standing? None of this is going to work if the agencies don’t use this form properly.”
11 Investigates tried multiple times to arrange an interview with Austin, but he cited a nondisclosure agreement as a reason that he could not speak out.
But Austin's case is not the only example of pasts being hidden during our examination of the portal.
In September, an internal investigation looked into Metroparks Toledo ranger Joseph Sauber attempting to run an investigation without his supervisors' approval or knowledge. Rather than risk being fired, Sauber “resigned under investigation” on Sept. 10.
It wasn’t the first time that Sauber had been forced from a job. Records obtained by 11 Investigates indicate that Sauber was part of an Oregon police investigation in 2021 for an incident that happened while he was an officer for Mercy Health. He has not been charged, but OPOTA records indicate he was “terminated” from Mercy Health and “resigned under investigation” in Elmore after the incident.
Sauber could not be reached for comment.
The incident took place prior to Sauber being hired by Toledo Metroparks. Brad Navarre, chief of rangers, was asked if he knew of his history.
“I did not know that he was under investigation or anything about that incident prior to his hire,” Navarre said.
We were provided a lengthy list of background checks that the Metroparks put prospective rangers through before hire. But unlike Austin’s situation, Sauber’s work history clearly shows two forced separations in the portal. However, during our interview, Navarre mentioned that his team was frustrated that the attorney general’s changes had yet to be made, making it impossible for his team to see the reasons for an officer's separation in the portal.
During our interviews for this story, we learned officials at multiple departments were unaware of how to properly use the portal. There is a search tab for officers. Punch in a name, and work history, separation dates, and training and certifications can be seen, but there is no reason listed for separations.
Beginning on June 30, 2021, the AG’s office began listing reasons for separations, but under a separate tab – Separations. In that search, you can submit a beginning and ending date. If June 1, 2023 is listed as a beginning date, all officers who separated on that date are listed and the reason for that separation is given. In order to find a reason for a separation, a searcher must first find the separation date under one tab, then go to a separate tab to find the reason.
“I’m sure every agency in Ohio wants to hire the best people we possibly can, so as we work through this, maybe we should get some training to go through the portal web site,” Navarre said.
We took those concerns to Yost, who said state officials would work to train local law enforcement officials how to use the portal.
"I wasn't aware of this problem until now. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. It's an easy fix with a YouTube video or a video on our web site."
Looking the other way
In 2019, the Defiance County Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation into alleged domestic violence incidents at the request of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
Those incidents involved Fulton County Deputy John Trejo and his then-wife, Stephanie.
The report has never been released publicly, but 11 Investigates reviewed it. Stephanie Trejo told investigators that in late 2018, the couple got into a fight and she pushed her husband in the bathroom. She said Trejo shoved her to the ground, causing her to hit the toilet so hard that it knocked it off its foundation. The report said he then began kicking her and put his hands around her neck “and that his eyes were very dark, and looked as if she was staring at the devil.”
Stephanie Trejo said the incident ended when she yelled for her daughter and she came into the room.
He was never charged, and an interview with Trejo is not included in the report, but he left the department within days of that report being finalized. A little more than a month later, he was hired by the village of Swanton as a patrol officer. In May, the village promoted him to chief.
Swanton administrator Shannon Shulters said the village knew about the investigation before hiring him.
“We were aware of that, and we did our further review before we appointed him," she said. "We did our own investigation once we were made aware of those allegations.”
She added that the village talked with the Fulton County sheriff and also to Stephanie Trejo before hiring Trejo. She also said members of the department love working for Trejo and he has had no issues since being hired.
Swanton officials advised Trejo not to talk to 11 Investigates. Shulters was asked what she would say to residents when they learn of the report.
“There were no charges pressed. If there were, he wouldn’t be able to be in law enforcement today - plain and simple. What happened five years ago in his personal life is his personal life and has no effect on his career and the leader that he is now,” she said.
Repeat offenders
In the cases of Austin and Trejo, their past issues have not been repeated in their current jobs. But a review of the state’s database found that dozens of officers have been fired or forced to resign from multiple jobs.
Locally, one man, Jordan Wehrly, has left multiple departments after investigations. In Ada, he was disciplined for flashing his police badge multiple times in bars. A bar fight led to departures from Spencerville, Put-in-Bay, and Saint Rita’s Medical Center. He resigned under investigation in Oak Harbor in August. An internal document indicated that the department believed he was in a relationship with a 17-year-old girl he had met at a traffic crash.
Chief Eric Parker signed the report, concluding that “it is my recommendation to terminate Officer Jordan Wehrly from the department as soon as possible.”
According to the OPOTA portal, he is currently an officer with Fayette. A voicemail left on his phone was not returned. He was not charged for the alleged relationship.
Fayette provided the following statement:
“The Village of Fayette’s police department consists of professional officers who are certified by the state of Ohio as peace officers and are eligible for employment. No Fayette officer has any disqualifying criminal convictions, criminal charges, or even negative references from prior employment that would preclude employment or indicate that employment is improper.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been edited to correctly reflect what misconduct Metroparks Toledo ranger Joseph Sauber was accused of committing before he resigned.
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