Buckeye Lake police chief fails firearm re-certification, officer appeals firing

BUCKEYE LAKE - The Buckeye Lake Police Chief failed a firearm re-certification, but is confident he will pass it when he tries again.

The department's lone other full-time officer, who was recently fired, is appealing his termination with the village.

Buckeye Lake Police Chief James Hanzey has been required by Mayor Peggy Wells to pass a re-certification test after accidentally discharging a weapon one day after having his right ring finger amputated.

Wells said at a Buckeye Lake Village Council meeting Monday night Hanzey failed two attempts of the 25 round test at an indoor facility at the Reynoldsburg Police Department March 30.

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Hanzey needed a score of 20 or better to pass. He scored 18 on the first attempt and 19 on the second, according to records from the Reynoldsburg Police Department.

Hanzey said after the meeting he plans to retake the test, but a date has not been set. He added he wants to try again as soon as possible, maybe even this week.

Hanzey, who used his own weapon during the test, said he is confident he will pass the test.

One of the reasons he failed, Hanzey said, is because the bullet proof vest he wore was too tight and restricted his movement. Hanzey said he did not know he was required to wear a vest during the test and did not bring his own vest with him. The vest that was provided to him by the Reynoldsburg Police Department was too small.

Mayor Peggy Wells attended Hanzey's re-certification attempt.

"As a new mayor, I was trying to learn all I could about all the department's functions," she said.

Hanzey can not respond to calls for service and has been restricted to desk duty until he passes the re-certification.

Hanzey is the only full-time officer on duty in the village as Officer Jeff Vermaaten was terminated March 26 because he refused to participate in a computer voice stress test analysis, a type of lie detector test, as part of an investigation into Hanzey's accidental weapon discharge.

Hanzey said the Licking County Sheriff's Department has been responding to calls if none of the part time or auxiliary officers are available. 

During the meeting Monday, Larry Arnold, an attorney representing Vermaaten, said he is appealing Vermaaten's dismissal because they don't believe the computer voice stress analysis, or CVSA, Vermaaten was asked to take is accurate.

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Arnold brought Doug Wells, an expert in the field who is registered with the Ohio Association of Polygraph Examiners. Doug Wells said half the people who are examined with the CVSA who appear to be lying, are not and vice versa. 

"It's terrible. It's about the same as a flip of a coin," Arnold said. 

Vermaaten has worked for the village police department since March 2001. Arnold said Vermaaten had no disciplinary problems during his time with the department.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-328-8513

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13