CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — A dark cloud continues to hang over the Circleville Police Department as more administration are walked off the job.
On Monday, acting-police chief Doug Davis was placed on leave by the town’s mayor. Davis was acting-chief since earlier this month, when Chief Shawn Baer was escorted off the job by the county Sheriff. Baer is facing an internal investigation by the city for allegations of abuse of authority, intimidation, retaliation, and abusing time sheets.
Davis was the deputy chief under Baer and took the reins after Baer’s paid leave. However, on Monday, Davis, himself was escorted off the job.
“On March 25, Acting Chief Doug Davis was placed on paid administrative leave from the Circleville Police Department due to an investigation into alleged employee misconduct. In the meantime, the Circleville Police Department is in the capable hands of experienced leaders within the agency. The city took this action in order to protect the integrity of the department while the investigation is ongoing,” the city released in a statement.
Circleville has been plagued with a myriad of scandals surrounding the police department.
Last week, the former safety director spoke at city council after being hired and fired only five days later. In his speech, he called Mayor Michelle Blanton a “coward” and outlined a host of issues inside the police department’s administration that he was “trying to fix.”
Currently, the police department lacks any clear leader. The city does not have a safety director, and the police chief and deputy chief are both on leave.
As you may recall, the Guardian broke the news last summer that a semi trucker was attacked by a K9 from the department after a police pursuit. That incident led to the firing of officer Ryan Speakman, a six figure settlement for the trucker, and other payouts.