Citing 11 charges, Waverly could fire Police Chief Larry Roe
WAVERLY - The village of Waverly is accusing Police Chief Larry Roe of 11 separate charges and appears to be working toward dismissing him as their top police officer.
Mayor Greg Kempton, on Tuesday, served Roe with a notice of charges and informed him that the Village Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday to consider evidence and any defense Roe may have.
Roe has been on paid administrative leave since late August "pending the completion of an investigation of allegations of work-related misconduct," according to a letter from Kempton to Roe.
The 11 charges accuse Roe of inefficiency, incompetency, neglect of duty, dishonesty, misfeasance, and insubordination. Three of the charges relate to his handling of matters regarding his son, who worked for the department, and actions in April and July of this year.
Kempton presented the charges to Roe in person Tuesday. The charges were levied to comply with state law regarding the "removal of a village marshal."
According to Roe's personnel file, Roe was hired as a police officer for the village in June 1994. In September 2001, he was made acting chief for the police department and brought on permanently soon thereafter.
The accusations
A look at the charges yields some information:
Most of the allegations are regarding his behavior or management style.
For example, Roe is accused of saying "women do not belong in law enforcement positions" and using his authority to schedule personnel "as a punitive tool." He's also accused of mismanagement that created a "negative work environment" that resulted in excessive staff turnover and low morale. He's also accused of not being able to speak "with authority" on the work performance of his officers, not maintaining a proper inventory of police department equipment, and not knowing village policy regarding special duty.
But he's also accused of more serious charges including those regarding his son, Jared. Kempton's letter to Roe says the chief "filled out and approved a time sheet indicating his son worked" on July 18 and then delivered to the village auditor's office a list of duties that his son allegedly performed on that day, which was a violation of administrative leave.
The village also claims that Roe did not properly submit information to an insurance company following a April 2018 incident when his son hit a deer while in the Project Lifesaver vehicle.
An allegation is also made that Roe signed over and deposited checks into the Police Auxiliary Account, then "routinely" made purchases for the department from that account outside of the police budget approved by council.
What happens now?
Roe will have the ability to defend himself on the charges at Tuesday's council meeting. The council will then vote on whether to dismiss the charges, suspend Roe for no more than 60 days, or fire him. A ⅔ vote of council is required to suspend or fire him.
If Roe is suspended or fired, he'll have 10 days to decide whether to appeal the decision with the Pike County Court of Common Pleas.