A Washington Court House Police Officer was forced to resign after he allegedly indirectly called another officer a “pedophile” while attacking more than half the police force in the process.
Officer Logan George resigned his position from the police department on September 8 after he struck a deal with the city.
The Guardian was provided a screenshot of the social media posting in question that spiraled the resignation, where George allegedly wrote, “That moment when pedophilia is not only supported but openly supported by several police officers, a detective, and other city officials….” [sic]
The comment made by George was in response to a photo from the wedding of another officer, Sergeant Derek Pfeifer. In the photo, Pfeifer is seen courting his new spouse at his wedding alongside eight other police department employees, including top brass, which was held last month.
The “pedophilia” comment by George was allegedly a reference to allegations that Pfeifer engaged in an inappropriate relationship with his now-wife while she was underage and he was an officer. Pfeifer has never been charged with such crimes and the Guardian has not been able to independently verify the allegations, which have swirled the community for nearly a decade.
The comment immediately spiraled an internal investigation and George was notified that an administrative hearing was being held against him by a lieutenant within the police department for violations of “unbecoming conduct” and a violation of “public statements.” Ironically, the lieutenant, Rusty Lowe, was photographed in the wedding photo, himself and was one of the many attacked in the posting; the Guardian attempted to reach out to Police Chief Brian Hottinger for comment to ask if the lieutenant’s involvement as the hearing officer posed a conflict of interest, but Hottinger did not respond back to the Guardian’s request for comment.
As part of a deal, George agreed to resign from the police department, instead of being terminated. In exchange, the chief wrote George a letter of recommendation for his personnel file, which reads, “Logan George worked for the City of Washington Court House Police Department from January 4, 2016 until September 6, 2020. During his time with this department Logan performed his duties a a Patrol Officer well and displayed above average knowledge of the Ohio Revised Code [sic].“
George and the now-married Pfeifer are not new to controversy. The two have had bad blood for some time.
The Guardian broke a story last year that Pfeifer and George were involved in an off-duty fight with one another, which resulted in both of them being suspended.
The aftermath of the fight was caught on dashcam video of responding officers.
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In the dashcam video, George’s dad, who was at the scene, is heard in the background giving his side of the story and supporting his son’s account of the events of what allegedly occurred.
“Dad, it doesn’t matter what you say! The Pfeifers run everything; he’s got him [another officer] in his pocket,” George is overheard saying. That appeared to be a reference to Derek Pfeifer, whom George was fighting, and Matt Pfeifer, Derek’s cousin, who is also a police sergeant with the force.
Derek Pfeifer, now a sergeant with the small department, previously faced controversy once before, for his own insensitive social media postings, in which he attacked race, gender, and the sexuality of minorities. In that situation. Pfeifer served a thirty day suspension.
In 2006, Pfeifer was fired from the state prison system for using a racial slur, but lied on his police officer application when asked if he had been terminated from the job.
Efforts to reach George for comment on this story were not successful.