Island’s police chief accused of ignoring assault claim

Associated Press

PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio

The police chief in the Lake Erie island resort town of Put-in-Bay was charged Friday with blocking an investigation into sexual-assault claims against an officer more than a decade ago and lying to investigators.

Put-in-Bay police Chief Ric Lampela was charged with four misdemeanors counts, including dereliction of duty and falsification, according to the Ohio attorney general’s office.

Investigators from the state and a county sheriff’s office said Lampela refused to look into claims from two police-department employees who reported in 2003 that an officer had sexually assaulted them.

The police chief wanted to prevent negative publicity for the department, the state investigators said.

A message seeking comment was left for Lampela at his office Friday.

Lampela also was charged with aggravated menacing after investigators said he threatened an employee with a firearm in 2012.

He made false statements about both incidents to an investigator from the Ottawa County sheriff’s office, according to the charges.

Numerous complaints about unlawful arrests and heavy-handed police tactics from residents and business owners on South Bass Island sparked the investigation, said Steve Levorchick, Ottawa County sheriff.

The Put-in-Bay police department has a small year-round staff but hires a number of seasonal officers to deal with the busy summer tourist season.

The island, with a few hundred year-round residents, sees its population swell in the summer, turning the village of Put-in-Bay into a rowdy resort town popular with boaters, bachelor parties and college students.