Body camera released of Tipp City officer’s OVI arrest

TIPP CITY — A Tipp City police officer is on paid leave following his Saturday OVI arrest in Piqua.

Officer Todd R. Daley, 30, entered a not guilty plea to the charge Wednesday morning during his arraignment in Miami County Municipal Court.

He was arrested around 2:15 a.m. at North Main Street and Riverside Drive. According to a Piqua Police Department incident report, an “officer observed a suspicious vehicle. Male was arrested for OVI.”

Body camera footage obtained by News Center 7 through a public records request showed an exchange with Daley and the arresting officer.

“I’m a Tipp City officer as well,” Daley told the officer as he was exiting the vehicle as police questioned him about whether he’d been drinking.

The arresting officer steps away from Daley and consults with a senior officer also on the scene.

"Cameras already rolling it’s too late. He just admitted he's a Tipp City police officer,” the arresting officer said.

"We got to do what we've got to do. It doesn't matter,” the senior officer said.

Deputy Chief Martin Grove said the arresting officer, who was six weeks out of training, was doing the right thing by asking for guidance since the traffic stop involved a law enforcement officer.

"We fully expect our officers to do the right thing,” Grove said.

A lieutenant also responded to the scene and reassured the arresting officer he was making the right decision by taking Daley into custody.

"He was spoken to and verified the right thing,” Grove said.  "He does have a job to do and he knows that."

Daley in March was recognized as Tipp City’s Officer of the Year for 2018.

Daley, who joined the department in 2017, will remain on paid administrative leave until his court case is concluded, according to a release issued Wednesday night by the Tipp City Police Department.

Once the case is finished in municipal court, the Tipp City department will conduct an internal investigation, the release stated.