Cheek, who is the village’s highest paid employee with a $40,000 annual salary, has been on paid administrative leave since April 3. At that time, council members voted to suspend Cheek because the village was unable to get insurance coverage for the police department, partly because of excessive lawsuits and claims, including two against Cheek himself.
Mayor Patti Hanes last week brought forth charges against Cheek that requested he be disciplined over allegations from one of those lawsuits, which alleged that he used excessive force against a suspect in June 2012 and failed to discipline the other officer who allegedly punched, kicked and charged at the same suspect.
Council member Paul Stidham, who voted to fire Cheek, said testimony from Fairfield Police Officer Sandy Sears helped to incriminate the chief. Stidham, a volunteer fireman for New Miami, said it’s rare for one police officer to testify against another.
“It speaks volumes to me,” Stidham said. “For her to make these accusations is troubling to me. She has nothing to gain by that.”
Sears was traveling through the village on an evening in June 2012 when she saw a New Miami police officer involved in a foot pursuit of a man. When she got out of her car to assist the officer, she says she saw New Miami Police Officer Tyrone Sims kick, hit and charge the suspect, who repeatedly used racial slurs against Sims, who is black. Later, she also saw Cheek grab the suspect by the throat and choke him.
“I was pretty shocked at what I was seeing at that point,” Sears said of the alleged fight.
The suspect, Casey Conley, later filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming Cheek and Sims used excessive force against him that night. The lawsuit resulted in an out-of-court settlement in February, just a month before the village was dropped from its insurance plan. The settlement resulted in a $42,000 payout from the village insurance to Conley.
Stidham told the Journal-News that he wasn’t even aware of the 2012 incident until the lawsuit was settled earlier this year. Disciplining Cheek over the lawsuit and incident did not appear to be an issue discussed by council members until the village was dropped from its insurance.
Cheek, who talked Tuesday night for more than an hour straight to defend himself, said that he’s simply a victim of vengeance and never choked the suspect. He said Sears has a vendetta against the New Miami Police Department because Cheek failed to cite a driver that rear-ended Sears in a New Miami crash years ago.
“I don’t cite on accidents,” Cheek explained to council members Tuesday. “If you have insurance, I don’t cite on accidents, unless there’s injuries.”
But several council members Tuesday also took issue with Cheek’s overall management of the police department, suggesting problems of insubordination and ill-kept records.
Council member Dennis Rapier, for example, said New Miami police officers, Cheek included, had filed between 10 to 15 required use of force reports, none of which were ever shared with the mayor or council. Officers are required under village policy to fill out a report whenever they deploy a Taser or pull a gun on a suspect, for example.
“At no time has she (the mayor) requested use of force reports,” Cheek said. “We haven’t probably talked five times in two years.”
Cheek then revealed that he and the mayor rarely communicate and, when they do, a verbal battle typically ensues over his requested vacation time or his handling of the department. Cheek also said the mayor has been “bullying in the workplace.”
Hanes, who wouldn’t comment to the Journal-News, did not respond to those allegations from Cheek but she did roll her eyes several times at his comments.
Some council members said Cheek ignored requests from Hanes to stop scheduling Sims. They also questioned if he had run unauthorized background checks on the mayor and council members and withheld information on use of force reports.
One of the reports, council member Christine Reichert noted, didn’t list witnesses involved in an incident.
“The reports are seriously lacking on a regular basis,” Reichert said. “That is something that needs some serious attention.”
All but one council member, Barbara Schick, agreed to fire Cheek. His termination is effective immediately, but he will be paid through the rest of the week and have access to health insurance coverage until the end of the month, Village Solicitor Dennis Adams said.
Until then, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office will be tasked with responding to emergencies in the village. Hanes fired a handful of officers last week and the remaining officers were asked to turn in their badges while village officials try to find a new insurance plan.
“We’ll continue to service the area, respond to calls and do whatever patrol we can,” Butler County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer said. “That’s about it. If they want to contact us about their future, they can do that.”
The village has relied on the Butler County Sheriff’s Office for coverage before when the police department disbanded in 2007 because of political upheaval within the village. The police department was re-opened in May 2010 under Cheek’s lead.
The village council will discuss how to proceed with the police department in a council meeting next month, Adams said.
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