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Off-duty Oakwood officer told wife to get gun during dispute, report says

Oakwood Police Officer John McCalister is on administrative leave after he was accused of assaulting a man inside a Rite Aid Pharmacy in Dayton. He was off-duty and out of uniform when the alleged assault occurred.

Staff photo by Kelli Wynn Oakwood Police Officer John McCalister is on administrative leave after he was accused of assaulting a man inside a Rite Aid Pharmacy in Dayton. He was off-duty and out of uniform when the alleged assault occurred.

Oakwood Police Officer Tiffany Conley McCalister is on administrative leave after her husband and fellow Officer John McCalister was accused of assaulting a man inside a Rite Aid Pharmacy in Dayton on Oct.14. Tiffany McCalister was a witness to the alleged assault.

Staff photo by Kelli Wynn Oakwood Police Officer Tiffany Conley McCalister is on administrative leave after her husband and fellow Officer John McCalister was accused of assaulting a man inside a Rite Aid Pharmacy in Dayton on Oct.14. Tiffany McCalister was a witness to the alleged assault.

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By Kelli Wynn and Steve Bennish
Staff Writers Updated 9:41 PM Thursday, November 5, 2009

OAKWOOD — An off-duty Oakwood police officer accused of assaulting a man inside a Rite Aid Pharmacy on Oct. 14 told his wife, who also is a Oakwood police officer, to get a gun from a car during the incident.

Officer John McCalister, Officer Tiffany McCalister and Paul Watts, 48, had a “verbal altercation” after Watts asked the McCalisters for change about 3:30 p.m. at the Rite Aid store, 1158 Wilmington Ave., according to a Dayton Police Department incident report.

“Complainant John McCalister advised Tiffany McCalister to go to the car and get the phone and get the gun,” the report said.

According to the report, Watts then uttered an expletive at McCalister and said, “I’ll kick your --- anyway.”

Tiffany McCalister did not get a gun.

Also Thursday, the City of Dayton Public Affairs Office released surveillance video of the incident . The video footage shows John McCalister striking a man twice in the store and the man not fighting back.

Following the release of the video, Oakwood Public Safety Director Alex Bebris issued this statement:

“I find this video to be very disturbing. The allegations made against Officer McCalister as charged by the Dayton Prosecutor’s Office are very serious — and if sustained, should not be reviewed as reflective of the behavior expected or tolerated by this department.”

Bebris said the incident occurred while both McCalisters were off-duty and out of uniform. McCalister remains on administrative leave. Bebris said an internal investigation is ongoing.

“When it is complete, and all the facts available are in, appropriate and decisive action will be taken,” Bebris said.

John McCalister, a Dayton firefighter for 10 years prior to joining the Oakwood Public Safety Department in 1995, faces a misdemeanor assault charge that has been filed in Dayton Municipal Court. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for Dec. 1.

Watts has not been charged in the incident.

Tiffany McCalister, who was a Dayton police officer from 1999-2007, has not been charged in the incident, but she has been put on administrative leave, along with her husband.

The couple married in May, according to their Oakwood personnel files.

John McCalister also is a former union president for Oakwood’s public safety employees, Bebris said.

In April 2006, John McCalister reported to Dayton police that a 28-year-old man approached him and some relatives while they were on West Monument Avenue while McCalister was off-duty.

McCalister told police the man threatened to ki ll him and attempted to punch him in the face after McCalister claimed to have identified himself as an off-duty police officer, the report said.

At the time, the 28-year-old man was arrested on charges of menacing and disorderly conduct.

Bebris said he was not aware of the 2006 incident.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2414 or kwynn@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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