Former officer gets 5 years’ probation

Staff report

WARREN

A Mahoning County deputy sheriff who served as a corrections officer and part-time Braceville Township police officer has been sentenced to five years’ probation for improperly using a law-enforcement-only database.

Ryan M. Freeman, 31, of Front Street Southwest, pleaded guilty in August to unauthorized use of a computer system.

Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court handed down Freeman’s sentence Wednesday.

It doesn’t include any prison time but requires Freeman to pay court costs and the cost of having members of the Trumbull County Adult Probation Department monitor him.

As part of his probation, Freeman cannot serve as a police officer for the next five years. Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor, however, said pleading guilty to felony offenses makes it impossible for Freeman to be a police officer again.

The Mahoning County sheriff’s office placed Freeman on paid administrative leave in January after officers with the Trumbull Ashtabula Group Law Enforcement Task Force charged Freeman with the offenses.

TAG said Freeman looked up information on the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway database about a 39-year-old Warren man and two Trumbull County law-enforcement officers.

The Warren man, who was in Freeman’s home at the time the offense occurred, was later charged with aggravated drug trafficking.