Trumbull jail corrections officer placed on paid leave

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

The Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office has placed jail corrections officer Ryan Tolone on paid administrative leave pending completion of an internal-affairs investigation into whether he violated departmental policies relating to prescription-drug use.

Maj. Tom Stewart, internal-affairs investigator with the sheriff’s office, said the decision was made after interviewing Tolone on Tuesday regarding a report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol indicating Tolone had the drug buprenorphine in his system when his vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian on state Route 193 in Liberty Township in January.

One of the trade names for buprenorphine is Suboxone, which most commonly is used to treat addiction to opioid drugs such as heroin or oxycodone.

Tolone has not been charged criminally in the crash, which killed Emily Huffman, 45, of Liberty, but Girard Prosecutor Michael Bloom is reviewing the case to determine whether Tolone violated any laws.

Tolone was headed south on Belmont Avenue in a pickup truck about 10:30 p.m. Jan. 28 when his vehicle hit Huffman, who was walking in the roadway. The toxicology test for her showed alcohol and the active ingredient in marijuana in her system. She was walking on the wrong side of the roadway, according to the highway patrol’s report.

In an interview with the highway patrol, Tolone gave indications he may not have seen Huffman before the crash. He answered “no” when the investigator asked him whether he was taking any medications. Investigators said Tolone didn’t appear to be impaired.

The federal Americans With Disabilities Act protects a person from having to reveal to his or her employer whether he or she is using a drug such as buprenorphine if it is used as part of a treatment program, according to Dr. David Brown, medical director for Meridian Healthcare of Youngstown.

But the sheriff’s office requires anyone using such drugs to provide a letter from a doctor indicating whether the user is cleared to carry out their work-related duties, Stewart said.

“We don’t ask for the reason for the letter or what the prescription is for,” Stewart said.

Stewart said he cannot comment on whether Tolone provided that type of letter or whether Tolone had a prescription for the buprenorphine.

The reason for the rule is to protect the sheriff’s office and the employee in the event that the employee is involved in a work-related incident, Stewart said.

A doctor’s letter indicating that an employee is not fit for duty can protect the sheriff’s office from liability arising from the employee’s conduct, Stewart said. And it can protect an employee from personal liability resulting from an incident at work while he or she is using the drug, he added.