CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The top law enforcement officer for Circleville has resigned amid an investigation that involves the deputy chief of police being placed on paid leave.
Tony Chamberlain, 47, verbally resigned Wednesday as the Safety and Service Director for Circleville. It is a position he had held for a few years. As the head of the police and fire departments, Chamberlain oversaw the day-to-day operations of the city’s public safety forces and reported directly to the town’s mayor, Don McIlroy. The resignation comes amid an investigation into the police department’s deputy chief of police for allegations of physical and sexual assault.
The Complaint.
A few weeks ago an investigation was launched into allegations that Deputy Police Chief Phil Roar was harassing and bullying other police officers. In addition, complaints alleged that the second-in-command sexually and physically assaulted at least three officers on various occasions. As a result of the claims, the city opened an investigation.
The Guardian reviewed more than 100 pages of handwritten notes obtained in a public records request from the city that outline the investigation.
In the initial complaint, a newly-promoted sergeant asked the human resource manager, Valerie Dilley to investigate possible claims of retaliation. The sergeant told Dilley that he felt he was being targeted by Roar after the sergeant voiced concerns about the morale of the department in an email to administration. It was that complaint which spiraled an investigation that would uncover serious claims of assault.
The allegations.
It is routine for the city to conduct interviews with employees that they believe may have information about a complaint. As part of the investigation into Roar, the city pulled several police employees for interviews to ask about their interactions with the deputy chief. When the officers were pulled in for their sit-downs, the floodgates opened.
The most serious allegations perhaps center around a claim that Roar assaulted a sergeant in the police department’s bathroom while the police chief was in the restroom with them. The sergeant — who filed the initial complaint that spawned the investigation — told human resources that while he was in the bathroom urinating, Roar came up behind him and pushed him up against the wall in a “high school bully” manner. According to the notes obtained by the Guardian, Chief of Police Shawn Baer was in the bathroom when the assault happened but did not do anything about it. The notes also show that the newly-promoted captain saw the attack, as well.
During his interview, the captain told HR investigators that if officers complained to administration, then those officers would become targets and be labeled as “problem children.” So much so, the captain said that previous police department employees were fired if they complained.
“Once you go against the system, you are targeted,” the captain reportedly told Dilley.
The captain said he had told Chamberlain about issues inside the department before, but that the safety director did not do anything about them. While paperwork reviewed by the Guardian does not state if Chamberlain gave a reason for his resignation, one must beg the question if his failure to act upon complaints did not sit well with the mayor.
Notes also show that Chamberlain, himself, was pushed into a urinal by Roar, to the extent that the director ended up urinating on himself; nothing was ever done, despite the safety director being two paygrades above the deputy chief.
Additional claims of assault.
The attacks in the bathroom on the sergeant and safety director were not the only times the deputy chief reportedly assaulted department employees.
The deputy chief is also accused of grabbing officers in a sexual manner, including squeezing one’s inner-thigh.
According to Dilley’s notes, Roar picked up another officer by his bullet proof vest and physically threw him out a door — causing him to fall to the ground — when the officer was asking a question that the deputy chief did not like. The officer was a member of day shift, according to the notes, and had complained to his sergeant about Roar. The first shift sergeant reportedly told officers to just keep their head low and not to buck the system.
Where things stand.
Human resource managers continue their investigation into the allegations of the deputy chief while he is on paid administrative leave.
The sergeant who filed the initial complaint is still on the job, but not without his own baggage. In the notes obtained by the Guardian, the sergeant had issues for being late to work and for not turning in paperwork on time. In the same notes, the sergeant told investigators that the outcome he hoped for from the investigation into Roar was to “see officers succeed without feeling trapped or targeted by administration.”
The safety service director position with the city is vacant, pending a hire or promotion by the mayor, who declined a request for an interview with the Guardian about this story.
It is unknown if the chief or captain will face discipline for their involvements. Attempts to reach both for this story were not successful.
The Guardian has spoken to a prominent Columbus law firm who asked not to be publicly identified. The firm said they have counseled three officers about possible employment lawsuits, but refused to disclose the officers’ identities for the purpose of this story.
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