Circleville police chief on paid leave amid allegations of harassment, intimidation, more
The Circleville police chief has been placed on paid leave while the city investigates a variety of misconduct allegations.
According to a letter sent to him Monday, Chief Shawn Baer faces allegations of "harassment, intimidation, retaliation, threats of discipline, misuse of position, improper expenditures, failure to adhere to deadlines and timekeeping violations."
In July, Baer fired a K-9 officer whose dog attacked and mauled an unarmed truck driver after a traffic stop.
Baer was ridiculed in part because he fired officer Ryan Speakman not for the mauling, but for failing to meet "standards and expectations we hold for our police officers." According to a July 25 letter from Baer, a week before the firing, Speakman was punished for crying, speaking with colleagues and others, providing misleading information and having stress-related behavior related to the incident and attention he was receiving.
At the time, Circleville garnered national attention, sparking questions about racism, police abuse and deep-seeded misconduct within the department.
The city earlier this year agreed to pay truck driver, Jaddarius Rose, $225,000.
Neither Baer, city council members nor Mayor Blanton returned calls for comment.
On Tuesday, police were told to direct all calls for comment to a police records clerk and the city attorney. Neither immediately returned calls.
dnarciso@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Circleville police chief on paid leave amid misconduct allegations
