RIPLEY, Ohio — A former officer with the Ripley Police Department who now faces two charges, including reckless homicide, has been indicted on other charges in the past, according to court documents in more than one Ohio county.
Caleb Savage, 30, is currently on bond and facing one count of reckless homicide and one count of failure to render aid/leaving the scene of a crash. He was indicted by a grand jury in Mason County, Kentucky.
But before he was hired by the Ripley Police Department in March 2022, just one year before the fatal crash, Savage faced charges in two different Ohio counties.
In Fayette County, in April 2019, Savage was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. He was scheduled to appear in court for trial in August 2019, but the case was dismissed after the victim declined to testify.
In Clark County, in October 2019, Savage was charged with one count of domestic violence and one count of assault, court records show. Documents filed in the case say that, while arguing with a woman and wrestling for her cell phone, Savage punched the woman in the back of the head.
Savage ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct in that case, according to court records. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but those 30 days were intended to go unserved unless Savage re-offended within that time. He was also sentenced to pay a fine.
WCPO has reached out to the Ripley Police Department and Ripley Township to determine whether either knew about Savage's former charges before hiring him as a police officer, but have not yet heard back.
According to a Facebook post by an old account for the Ripley Police Department, Savage joined the department in early March 2022, just over one year before the crash. The social media post says Savage was a graduate of Southern Hills Police Academy "and is excited to serve the residents of Ripley and Brown County."
Now, Savage faces charges in Mason County, Kentucky tied to the death of Ryan Mitchell.
According to a press release from Kentucky State Police, Savage was working to find a vehicle "suspected to be involved in a property crime" on March 12.
Savage allegedly spotted a Dodge Charger, driven by Ryan Mitchell, heading toward a bridge into Kentucky. Savage followed Mitchell across the state line for around one mile before he turned on his lights and sirens to stop the driver, KSP said.
According to the press release, Mitchell did not stop.
Savage allegedly chased Mitchell onto KY-3056 and, two miles after the chase began, Mitchell lost control of the Dodge Charger and crashed off the side of the road.
"Officer Savage continued on KY-3056 and returned to Ripley, Ohio," reads the press release.
Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash by the Mason County Coroner's Office.
Three days after the crash, on March 15, Mason County Sheriff Patrick Boggs reached out to KSP for their assistance in the investigation into Mitchell's death.
KSP's investigators presented the case to a Mason County Grand Jury, which ruled to indict Savage on two charges: Reckless homicide and failure to render aid/leaving the scene of an accident.
KSP said Savage was charged with the second one because the agency's investigation showed Savage did not try to help Mitchell after the crash and instead drove straight back to Ripley.
Ripley Mayor Nowana Bingaman said Savage broke department protocol by not turning on his body-worn camera after beginning a pursuit, but said Savage followed all other protocols. Merv Clemons, assistant police chief of the Ripley Police Department, said Savage was disciplined for the body camera violation, but he was never taken off patrol because the department didn't know about KSP's case against Savage until his indictment.
The Ripley Police Department is not equipped with vehicle dash cameras.
Savage resigned from his position with the police department on May 26, when he was indicted. On May 30, court records show a warrant was issued for his arrest and on May 31 Savage turned himself in, according to officials at the Mason County jail.
He bonded out of jail just a few hours later on a $10,000 cash bond.
Savage is currently scheduled for an arraignment in Mason County on June 9.
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