In this series, you will hear from a former Dayton police chief, deputy director and others about crimes they and others committed in uniform. And you’ll hear from those alive today about how that dark period in the city’s past impacts current events.
Part 1: Former police chief admits illegal wiretapping
Credit: Dayton Daily News archive
Credit: Dayton Daily News archive
Former Dayton Police Chief Grover W. O’Connor admits two months before his death to illegal wiretapping he had long denied.
He also concedes he threatened to personally murder William E. Stepp after learning the area’s leading gangster planned to harm one of the chief’s daughters because of the pressure cops were putting on his organization.
Part 2: ‘It was against the law’
Former department deputy director William P. Riley describes the “horrendous” admissions of criminal conduct made by other cops:
“I went home and I literally physically got sick,” Riley said.
Part 3: Maj. Bettinger and the Blue Wall
Former Dayton police Maj. Charles Bettinger talks about how he was taught to look the other way when he saw criminal behavior from fellow cops.
“You don’t ever, even rat on another officer. And that’s the way it was,” he said.
Part 4: ‘We’ve got to change it all’
Credit: Lisa Powell
Credit: Lisa Powell
In a recent interview from his nursing home, former police central intelligence unit sergeant Bobby Joe Cox talks about the corruption he saw.
“I regret some of the things I did,” he said.
Part 5: ‘The absolute truth’
Former Dayton police Sgt. Bobby Joe Cox talks about why he testified to a grand jury about the crime he saw. “The system was corrupt,” he said.
A grand jury eventually approved criminal charges against nearly 20 current and former law enforcement officers. The charges ranged from tampering with evidence, dereliction of duty, eavesdropping and interfering with civil rights to perjury and involuntary manslaughter.
It was characterized as the worst scandal in the history of the Dayton Police Department.
Part 6: ‘Never too late to right a wrong’
Former Dayton Police Detective Dwight Burlong was about to be the first Black officer awarded the department’s highest honor after he saved residents from a shotgun-wielding madman.
But then Burlong blew the whistle on police corruption. The award never came, and he was branded a liar by police and city leaders.
Burlong’s niece says he should receive the honor posthumously.
About the Author
