MIAMI TOWNSHIP — The Miami Township Board of Trustees decided whether or not its assistant police chief should keep his job Wednesday.
In February, Miami Township Police Department’s Assistant Police Chief Jason Etter was placed on administrative leave.
Etter has been accused of misconduct and failure to uphold the law.
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News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott attended the board meeting and was the only reporter in the room.
Two trustees voted not to fire Etter, but still punish him. The other trustee chose not to cast a vote.
The board of trustees then read the four violations against Etter.
“The charges consist of the following violations,” the board said.
The first violation was for breaking the department’s harassment and bullying policy.
The resolution states Etter was made aware of a potential harassment claim and told a lieutenant to follow up.
Etter never revisited the claim with the lieutenant, according to the resolution.
“Which is a breach of his duty and responsibility as a high-ranking officer in the department,” the board said.
The resolution continued and stated the person who filed the claim took back her accusation and now has a good relationship with the alleged harasser.
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The second violation surrounded Etter’s possible knowledge of an allegation of racism but was dismissed as no evidence was found.
The third violation concerns Miami Twp. Police Department General Orders stating no member should gossip, harass, or belittle anyone else.
The resolution found evidence that Etter did gossip about other officers on the force and mentioned intent to retaliate against another employee.
“Whether that was a real intent or just talk, it cannot be tolerated,” the board said.
A fourth violation, involving malfeasance, was also dismissed for being too vague.
The trustees decided that Etter would be demoted from assistant chief to lieutenant. Furthermore, he cannot move back up from the position.
Etter was also placed on leave with no pay for the next 30 days.
News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott reached out to Etter, but he directed us toward his attorney, but would not provide his name or contact information.
The Miami Township Chief of Police and the board of trustees were asked to comment, but said they couldn’t talk on the matter.
We will continue to follow this story.
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