BATAVIA, Ohio — Batavia Police Chief Jim Young has resigned following an investigation into his alleged misconduct.
In August, Young was placed on paid administrative leave. At the time, Mayor Scott Runck had only said Young was part of an ongoing investigation.
Video shows an incident in June where Young appears to be seen pulling the hair of a Frisch's waitress identified as Faith Simpson.
"He just grabbed me by my ponytail and like pulled me in. I tried to pull away and he pulled me closer, he whispered in my ear, 'You need to submit and listen to me, I'm your boss,'" Simpson said while speaking to WPCO 9 News about the incident.
Simpson said Young would come into her workplace once or twice a week, and would often harass her.
"As he came in more and more it was him constantly making comments about my appearance, the way I look, how he needed to take me out or I needed to give him his number," Simpson said.
She said he would in addition to making inappropriate comments in person, Young would also send her Facebook messages when she was off.
"Whenever I would wear jeans, he would be like, 'Oh you're figure looks very nice in those jeans.' Or if I wore leggings he would be like, 'Oh your butt looks nice in those leggings,'" Simpson said.
The Union Township Police Department investigated the incident and other alleged misconduct by Young. According to the department's report, Young admitted to pulling Simpson's hair but denied making comments about her appearance.
When investigators asked Young why he pulled her hair, he responded, "Because I'm friendly and outgoing and stupid, you know. No, there wasn't any purpose behind it."
Simpson told us she doesn't see it that way.
“He was speaking so sexual about me that I had other tables and other customers come up and apologize to me and complain to my manager about the way he was speaking about me," Simpson said.
You can read Union Township police's full report below:
In October, Runck wrote a letter to the village council outlining allegations against Young, including multiple sexual comments made by Young to others.
One example included Young allegedly commenting about a pastor's wife's breasts while investigating the scene of a death. Runck's letter said Young admitted to making those comments.
Runck also claimed in his letter Young borrowed thousands of dollars from one of his officers, who was promoted around that time. Young admitted to borrowing the money but says it was paid back.
You can read the mayor's full letter below:
The mayor recommended to the council that Young "should be removed from the office of Village of Batavia Police Chief."
Despite the mayor's recommendation, Young was not fired. He was allowed to resign and will be paid until the end of this month. Batavia's assistant village administrator said Chris Warner is the acting chief.
"I feel like nothing got done," Simpson said. "He basically got a paid vacation.”
Simpson said the incident took a toll on her. She said she's now in a situation and doesn't want to be involved in.
“It’s made me feel unsafe in a place I’ve lived for a long time and it’s made me feel vulnerable because I feel like I have to walk on eggshells when I do my job now," Simpson said.
A letter from the village solicitor states that no finding of any wrongdoing was done by Young.
WCPO 9 reached out to Young via email requesting an interview or statement about the allegations. Stephen Imm, an attorney representing the former chief, said in a statement, "Jim Young has been an outstanding public servant for decades. The only thing he is guilty of is engaging in some harmless horseplay. He was not found to have committed any wrongdoing, and absolutely none was committed by him. He left his employment with the village of Batavia voluntarily, and with his head held high."
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