Fired Officer May Have Avoided Ticket If Supervisor Hadn't Recommended It

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A Gahanna police officer, fired Monday after he was ticketed driving his motorcycle 149 mph on Interstate 70 in June, may not have received a ticket if his supervisor had not recommended it.

Officer Christopher Thomas' termination letter from Gahanna Public Safety Director Robert Keyes indicates that an Ohio State Highway Patrol Captain contacted Gahanna Police Deputy Chief Ken Bell to indicate the state patrol did not intend to cite Officer Thomas for the speeding incident, in which Trooper Jason Highsmith also was pulled over. But according to the termination letter, "Deputy Chief Bell indicated to the Captain his strong preference that (Thomas) also be cited for (the) speeding offense." Later, Thomas was issued a citation for speeding.

State patrol spokesperson Lt. Tony Bradshaw told NBC 4 on Tuesday that he does not know what conversation took place between Bell and the Captain. Bradshaw said OSHP does not plan to investigate whether the conversation amounted to special treatment for Officer Thomas.

Highsmith will not lose his job as part of a deal negotiated with the Ohio State Troopers Association. Instead, Highsmith will be under probation for two years, face a five-day unpaid suspension from work,
and he will be transferred to the Marysville Post. Highsmith also has been removed from motorcycle detail.

As part of the probation period, Highsmith can be fired without recourse if he engages in conduct unbecoming an officer, including any act that discredits the division, a crime, offense or a violation of the law, such as another speeding ticket.

OSTA general counsel Herschel Sigall called Highsmith's speeding, "a bad choice, a very bad choice, a very bad choice, but not necessarily a career-ending choice."

"He's been taken off the motorcycle detail that he loved very much and he's on a very short leash for a very long time. I'd say consistent with saving his career, the punishment fit the crime," Sigall said.

Keyes' report notifying Thomas of his termination said the speeding incident, "brought substantial harm to the reputation of the Gahanna Police Department" and showed, "complete disregard for the law and for public safety."

Many Gahanna residents said they felt the firing was justified.

"We're not talking about 75 or 85 (mph), that's 149 miles per hour. There's no credibility there," Gahanna resident Teneshia Eldridge said.

Others, including Gahanna resident John Tucker, questioned how Trooper Highsmith could remain effective in his job.

"I think it'd be very difficult for a law enforcement person who's broken the law and been publicly caught to have the respect of the public," Tucker said.

But Lt. Bradshaw said he expected Highsmith to be treated like any other state trooper.

"Well, that may be something that Trooper Highsmith will have to work through," Bradshaw said. "And after a while, we hope the citizens will not think of it that way. It just takes time."

Bradshaw said the patrol continues to investigate Trooper Brian Lee, who stopped Thomas and Highsmith on Interstate 70. Lee turned his microphone off during the traffic stop.

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