An independent probe has cleared North Royalton police brass of tampering, but the whistleblower's union is demanding that state investigators take over the case.
NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — An independent investigation has cleared North Royalton's police chief and a lieutenant of any criminal wrongdoing after a patrolman accused them of tampering with his arrest report — but the union representing the officer is rejecting the findings and demanding state investigators take over the case.
The eight-page report, released this week and authored by Cleveland attorney James J. Hofelich, concludes that Police Chief Keith Tarase and Lt. Jim Cutler acted within their authority when they deleted felony weapons charges from an arrest report involving Orange Village Deputy Chief Patrick O'Callahan. Conversely, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 15 — which represents the whistleblower, Patrolman Spencer Lowe — is calling the investigation a "whitewash" and a "flawed attempt to justify the scrubbing of felony charges from an official police narrative."
The controversy stems from an Oct. 11 traffic stop in which Lowe pulled over O'Callahan for speeding and driving left of center. According to Lowe's report, O'Callahan was traveling 55 mph in a 35 mph zone on Royalton Road and swerved out of his lane multiple times before being stopped.
When Lowe approached the vehicle, O'Callahan identified himself as a deputy police chief and indicated he had a firearm in his possession....
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