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Police officer, fired in 2014, withdraws application after being re-appointed by Campbell
By Sarah Lehr
CAMPBELL
A police officer who was fired in 2014 for inappropriate contact with a student has withdrawn his application after being reappointed last month to the city police department.
Mayor Nick Phillips confirmed to The Vindicator about 5 p.m. Wednesday that the city had rehired Russell Beatty III on April 26.
In a subsequent conversation with the newspaper less than half an hour later, however, Phillips seemed to contest the notion that Beatty had been officially hired — noting that the results of background checks had not yet come in. During that conversation, Phillips said: “There’s some things that have been brought to my attention and I want to look into it more.”
The mayor stated that Beatty was in the process of training and was not yet out on the road.
Later, Phillips called the paper at about 6:15 p.m. to say Beatty had withdrawn his application. Phillips said Beatty’s decision was a personal one and did not come at the mayor’s urging.
The police department fired Beatty in 2014 for “very poor choices,” according to Vindicator files. Beatty had been the resource officer for Campbell City Schools until the district suspended him in 2013 pending an investigation into allegations of improper interaction with a juvenile female student.
The district’s investigation “did not reveal any evidence of sexual contact or sexual conduct,” but determined Beatty violated a school board policy stating “a professional staff member shall not associate or fraternize with students at any time in a manner that may give the appearance of impropriety.”
An investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation did not find evidence of criminal conduct on the part of Beatty, who is now 28.
During the mayor’s initial conversation with The Vindicator, Phillips said he reviewed investigations by the Ohio BCI and the Campbell Police Department and decided the allegations leveled against Beatty before his firing were “unfounded” and a product of a “witch hunt.”
Phillips said the decision to rehire Beatty was his own as mayor, though he said he had the “blessing” of Police Chief Drew Rauzan.
“I can support the administration’s decision to give [Beatty] a second chance,” Rauzan said, noting that the police department has struggled to recruit and maintain part-time officers.
Phillips said his understanding was that Beatty performed well as a police officer before his dismissal under the administration of former Mayor William VanSuch.
Part-time patrolmen make $13.25 an hour, Phillips said.