CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The City of Circleville is set to sever ties with their deputy police chief after an internal investigation.
It was announced Tuesday night at a city council committee meeting that a severance package was being recommended to city council to approve for the second-in-command, Phil Roar.
The Guardian was the first to break the story that Roar — who has been with the police department for two decades — has been on paid leave for nearly a month. It came after an investigation was launched alleging sexual and physical assault and a hostile work environment inside the walls of the police department. The investigation led to the resignation of the city’s safety director, Tony Chamberlin last month after it was discovered Chamberlin was involved in the allegations as a victim and witness.
Mayor Don McIllory refused to speak about the investigation when it was underway. The announcement Tuesday that the city has reached a deal to make the situation go away would signal the investigation has concluded. McIllory told the Guardian that next week the investigation should be released.
“ … in response to a complaint filed by an employee of the Circleville Police Department, the City conducted an investigation into allegations of misconduct involving [Roar],” the separation agreement reads. “ … subsequent to the completion of the City’s investigation and upon discussion between the parties, both [Roar] and the City are desirous of ending their employment relationship …”
The severance package does not say Roar will be terminated. In fact, if approved at the next council meeting, the city will write him a check to leave his job on good terms as a resignation. The initial payout to him will be the ballpark of $33,000. He will also be paid nearly 430 hours of accrued leave. Records show the deputy chief position pays nearly $90,000, which means Roar will net another $18,000 or so in sick leave, bringing his total severance deal to just over $50,000.
Of course, there’s always the investigative paperwork that will remain public record, but under the severance agreement, Roar is not found administratively guilty of doing anything wrong. That could change when the investigation is released next week.
“The parties agree and recognize that all, or portions of the investigation conducted by the City, and this separation and release agreement may be subject to public disclosure …”
Disturbing allegations were lodged against the deputy chief during interviews with several police officers last month.
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 resource manager Valerie Dilley 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.
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.
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.
Council will meet March 1 to approve or reject the agreement.