Fired Ohio State Highway Patrol sergeant gets job back

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — An arbitrator has directed the state Highway Patrol to reinstate a sergeant who was fired after authorities said he didn’t stop some troopers from cheating on a test.

Sgt. Mark McDonald was fired in September.

He was among 11 patrol staff disciplined amid allegations of cheating on the April 2008 certification test for a device used to gather evidence against suspected drunken drivers.

McDonald told the arbitrator he had thought a trooper who mentioned a cheat sheet was only joking.

Ohio State Troopers Association lawyer Herschel Sigall says McDonald will return to the Canton post with full back benefits. He says the discipline will be erased from his personnel file.

The patrol today said it is processing paperwork for McDonald’s return.