NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio — There is now an active investigation into North College Hill Police Chief Ryan Schrand after two current officers wrote letters to the city's mayor complaining that Schrand created a hostile work environment.
In a letter sent to Schrand on Tuesday, Mayor Tracie Nichols told the chief he'd been placed on administrative leave effective immediately.
"The purpose of this leave is to give my office an opportunity to investigate these issues with minimal disruption to the workplace and to consider if disciplinary action, up to and including termination, may be appropriate," the letter reads.
In the interim, Schrand's responsibilities will be transferred to Lt. Craig Chaney, Nichols told fellow city staff in an email Wednesday.
WCPO received copies of the letters sent to the mayor about Schrand. Both a female and male officer detailed several reasons for their complaints. The former expressed her "distress, dissatisfaction and negative experiences."
"I have been subjected to unfair treatment and harassment from my supervisors and the Chief of Police himself," said the school resource officer whose name is otherwise redacted.
The female officer noted a time at the beginning of her employment when rumors were being spread within the police department suggesting an intimate relationship between her and a male training officer. It was nothing more than a friendship but Schrand repeatedly pressed her on it for the eight years she's been employed, she claimed.
"The harassing nature of these conversations made me feel uncomfortable. Since then, officers have come to me and told me Chief Schrand approached them about the rumors," she said. "(Another officer) told me Chief Schrand asked him about the nature of my relationship with (my colleague). According to (him), when he did not have or provide any information about it, Chief Schrand told him that if he found out I lied about my relationship with (my colleague) he would, "bury me, fire me immediately and go to the extent of putting me on the Brady list."
The Brady List is defined as "a list compiled usually by a prosecutor's office or a police department containing the names and details of law enforcement officers who have had sustained incidents of untruthfulness, criminal convictions, candor issues or some type of issues placing their credibility into question," the officer explained in her letter.
The female officer also states she approached commanding officers last year about a potential promotion only to be told there wasn't room in the budget for training and got a direct dismissal of the idea from Schrand, according to her letter.
"When I asked Chief Schrand if he received my email, he responded by saying he will never make me a detective at this agency," she wrote.
The male officer who also wrote a complaint about Schrand defended the female officer, backing her claims in his three-page letter.
“(The female officer and I) want nothing more than for this department to succeed. We have both discussed at length the possible consequence that we both would face if our letters were to get back to Chief Schrand and realize the wrath we would face,” he explained to the mayor. "We both feel like we have exhausted ourselves with attempts to make positive change, but he is not going to change."
The male officer laid out his complaints in a bullet point list. They include accusations that Schrand threatens other officers, bullies them and openly talks about them in front of other officers "especially if he is angry at something,"
The male officer also stated Schrand's golden rule is that "he wears the Eagles."
"So if you disagree with him or try and talk to him about officers' complaints or morale he will state "I wear the Eagles and they have been serving since breakfast," his letter reads.
The male officer also accuses Schrand of pushing officers out of the department, stating the department has lost 30 officers in the past eight years.
"I want nothing more than to see this agency thrive and to be looked at in a positive light throughout the county," he wrote. "I believe given the opportunity I can make this agency a place where officers want to work and stay for long periods of time."
The allegations against Schrand and the decision to place him on leave come at a time of tension and turmoil in the city. On Tuesday, Nichols also announced City Administrator Jennifer Ekey handed in her resignation.
She provided the mayor with a single sentence of explanation saying that her last day would be March 27.
Her announcement comes amid community concerns about transparency over the mass resignation of the city's firefighters.
As for Schrand, Nichols said the city will engage a third-party human resources consulting company to conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation into the allegation.
"While on administrative leave, you may not come to the workplace, perform any work or access work email or systems. You may also not be in contact in any way with any employees or other people who work for the city of North College Hill unless you are instructed or approved to do so in advance by this office," Nichols told Schrand in a letter.
WCPO reached out to Schrand for comment but did not hear back by the end of the day Wednesday.
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