Former Clyde police officer not reinstated to position

CLYDE — A former Clyde police officer will not be reinstated to his position by an arbitrator.Troy Keegan, who was hired as a part-time officer with the Clyde police in August 1994, became a full-time officer in 1996.He was fired on Oct. 2, 2015, after he allegedly used the department's system to be fingerprinted without paying for the service.Keegan then challenged his dismissal through arbitration about a year ago. Keegan faced criminal charges of theft, theft in office and misuse of a state computer system. Sandusky County Prosecutor Tom Stierwalt dismissed the grand jury indictment of three criminal charges against Keegan on his final pre-trial on Jan.7."A preponderance of evidence in the hearing record persuades the arbitrator that the grievant was not the victim of a misunderstanding between his sergeant and himself but an active participant in misleading Sgt. Roach," arbitrator Howard Silver wrote in his decision.Keegan allegedly told supervisors the request was for a personal need. Clyde police commanders contend he indicated it was for Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy needs. If the request was personal, Keegan would have been charged $54."The conduct of the grievant was misleading and deceitful for the purpose of personal gain, a form of dishonesty," according to a statement from the hearing. "Such conduct supports discharge when viewed in conjunction with the grievant's recent disciplinary history."That history includes attendance issues, failure to report wrecking a police cruiser, misusing a crime database and failing to immediately report an accusation against another Clyde police officer. It also includes improperly filling out traffic tickets which allowed some cases to be dismissed, according to the arbitrator's report.Keegan denies he misled anyone when he asked to be fingerprinted for a job opportunity."I've taught at area police and private security academies as a second job for the last 12 years. The fingerprints were needed to continue teaching. The city wants to pretend they did not know it was for that and say I deceived my sergeant. I don't understand how I can work 18 years there without an incident, then all of a sudden I'm the subject of numerous disciplines until I was fired. I feel like if it were anyone else working there, they would have just resolved it a different way," Keegan stated in a prepared statement.Keegan is planning on staying in law enforcement."I am blessed with having a few agencies wanting me to join them. I just had to see this arbitration through first before I could make a decision," Keegan stated.But any new job will be bittersweet as Keegan was born and raised in Clyde, he said.While challenging his employment, Keegan was an auxiliary officer with the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office, allowing him to keep all his certifications active.Clyde police Chief Bruce Gower said the decision upholds that officers are held to a higher standard than most."I think the decision was correct. Everyone makes it about the $54. It was not about the $54. It was about honesty and deceit, lying about it. We are happy with the decision," Gower said.Attempts to contact Adam Maguire, who represented Keegan in the arbitration, were not successful. He did not return several messages to the union office and his email.Former Clyde police officer Troy Keegan failed to be reinstated to the department by a recent arbitrators decision.