“We are pleased that Joseph has been restored to his position and now it’s just a matter of moving forward with the business of policing in the City of Trotwood,” said Mark Volcheck, OPBA attorney.
McCrary has been on medical leave since Oct. 2, 2014. He is scheduled to return to the police department on July 27, according to Stephanie Kellum, Trotwood’s human resources manager.
When asked about the specifics of McCrary’s future duties, Kellum said, “As a Sergeant, he would have supervisory responsibilities. However, the City is still reviewing its options and definitive decisions have not been made.”
Police Capt. John Porter issued a statement on behalf of the city. “The city of Trotwood is aware of the decision that was made regarding Sgt. Joseph McCrary,” the statement said. “The city is disappointed in the decision and will be weighing its options as far as the direction we may take next.”
The arbitration followed a grievance that was filed on behalf of McCrary in August of last year.
The grievance challenged whether the city had just cause to discipline McCrary who was accused of making sexually harassing and “totally unacceptable” comments in the workplace. He was also accused of showing inappropriate sexual pictures on his phone to fellow officers in December of 2012.
The city conducted an investigation into the allegations against McCrary. The outcome resulted in Michael Lucking, the city manager, determining that McCrary should be demoted from sergeant to patrol officer, suspended for 30 days and be required to complete uncompensated harassment training.
McCrary completed the training, according to Kellum.
However, Robert Vana, the arbitrator, wrote in his decision that McCrary should be restored to the rank of sergeant because the city violated its collective bargaining agreement with the police union.
“The disciplinary process was not done in a timely manner,” Volcheck said of the arbitrator’s findings. “The collective bargaining agreement sets up time lines for discipline and the arbitrator found that the discipline was not processed in a timely manner.”
In the arbitration award statement dated July 2, 2015, Vana said McCrary should be restored to the position of Detective Sergeant and the city is required to “make (McCrary) whole for all lost wages and benefits resulting from the disciplined imposed.”
City officials have not yet calculated how much back pay is owed to McCrary.
He did accrue sick time while on medical leave, according to Kellum. However, the exact amount has not yet been calculated.
When he returns to work, his base salary will be approximately $70, 760 and he would be eligible for overtime.
The award statement, which is final and binding, also said that McCrary should regain any lost seniority and ordered the city to remove all documents and records relating to the disciplinary actions from McCrary’s personnel files.
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