Chickens running wild

SANDUSKY — A Sandusky police officer was angry after a resident didn't give him the answer he wanted, so he charged him with a crime, according to a city man's complaint filed with police Chief Jared Oliver on Jan. 16. Burton Marin A video recording of the Nov. 6 encounter between Terry Burton and Officer Kenneth Marin from Marin's body camera appears to support the allegation Burton, 47, made in his complaint to the chief, that a report written by Marin about the encounter is "intentionally exaggerated and falsified." Oliver and Sandusky police patrol supervisor Lt. Brad Wilson don't agree with Burton's assessment but acknowledged Marin's report was substandard. "The officer should have spent more time on the investigation and/or consulted with his immediate supervisor prior to issuing the summons," Oliver told the Register. "He has been counseled and will receive additional training." Dial 911 "Ten chickens running wild," is the description a caller provided to a police dispatcher just before 5 p.m. that day. "They do not have a coop and are damaging the flower bed at the apartment complex." The caller provided police with the address of the Chelsea Court Apartments at 2308 Milan Road. It's unclear why Marin went to Burton's home when he responded to the call, which is a nearby single-family residence with an entirely different address. Burton's home is the first place Marin went after being dispatched, Burton said, but the report Marin wrote confuses the timeline. In the initial encounter, Burton answers the door and steps onto his front porch. "Are you, uh, know anything about those chickens?" Marin asks him. "What do you need to know about them?" Burton replies. Burton tells Marin he'd be happy to help him if Marin could be more specific about what he wants to know. At no time does Burton become belligerent, hostile or confrontational. He's not helpful, but isn't disrespectful or impolite at any point during the 6-minute interaction with Marin. As the encounter ends, Burton goes back into his home. "I'll be back with a summons," Marin calls out to him. Complaint filed Marin was hired in 2023. Burton said he worries Marin intentionally misrepresented what happened. Marin's report states that Burton was "very confrontational," 'belligerent" and "hostile," and that he "slammed the door" on Marin, none of which is evident in the video. In his complaint to Oliver, Burton stated that the officer's usage of words like those in his report were meant to "cause prejudice against a citizen within the judicial system in general and the prosecutor in specific." After an appearance in Sandusky Municipal Court, the loose animal charge against Burton was dropped, without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled. Burton, who was a Register correspondent in 2023-24 as a volunteer soldier fighting with Ukraine against Russia's invasion, said he's worrying the criminal charge now on his record will adversely impact his security clearances in the future. He wants the charge dropped entirely and expunged. You're on camera Burton obtained the body camera video from the Sandusky police last year, before state lawmakers approved letting law enforcement agencies charge up to $750 for copies of video encounters with police. In Burton's case, there were four videos from Marin's body camera, meaning police could charge him up to $3,000 to get copies if he were making a request after the law goes into effect on April 3, as opposed to no charge when he asked for them last year. In all, there are about 12 minutes of video provided. In the second video, Marin can be seen talking with the complainant. She tells him about the chickens but at no time does Marin encounter chickens running wild or see any chickens during any of the four videos. Marin stops as he's walking, at one point, noticing what looks like a goose dropping on the sidewalk and photographs it as evidence. "I know exactly where they are coming from, and I'm gonna charge him," Marin tells the woman. Later he tells her he talked with a man but doesn't identify Burton to her. He says the man was rude to him. "As soon as he started acting that way…he did… I knew… I didn't even have to come over here," Marin tells her. The third video shows Marin returning to Burton's door but Burton does not respond. The fourth video is Burton being served with the summons, charging him. "Due to the facts and circumstances a charge was issued for animal at large," Marin wrote in a second report some days after the initial encounter. It's not clear, however, what facts and circumstances Marin is referencing. There is no documentation the chickens were ever located or information in the report indicating Marin tried to ascertain who owned them. There's also no narrative in the report detailing any other investigation or justifying why charges were filed. Mistakes were made After a review of the complaint, the patrol supervisor, Wilson, found little to fault in Marin's report. "There are grammatical mistakes," Wilson wrote in an interoffice memo to the chief. "This should have been written in a manner more consistent with our professional standard." Wilson also suggested there were dispatching errors, but he didn't identify what those errors were or provide any detail about them. Oliver said Burton's complaint is being reviewed by the Sandusky law director, Stewart Hastings. The law director's office was not immediately available for comment. Oliver said he has not responded to Burton's complaint. "I will forward any relevant information to him at the direction of the law department. The criminal summons ... was dismissed without prejudice after I learned of the incident," Oliver wrote to the Register. "More investigation should have been completed prior to issuing a summons," Oliver wrote. "I concurred with (Wilson's) review. Prosecutor Lynn Gast-King dismissed the criminal charge without prejudice at my request. This means we have the opportunity to refile the criminal charge later, although I am not certain that I want to allocate more time and resources to the investigation as I do not feel that it is necessary or prudent." First encounter Here is a transcript from the first encounter between Sandusky police Officer Kenneth Marin and Sandusky resident Terry Burton on Nov. 6, 2024: Marin: Are you, uh, know anything about those chickens?Burton: What do you need to know about them?Marin: Are they yours?Burton: What do you want to know about them?Marin: Are they yours?Burton: I don't normally answer questions, but is there a problem?Marin: The chickens are going on other people's property and destroying it.Burton: What got destroyed? Who is complaining?Marin: The people in the apartments over there (Marin then points towards it.)Burton: Which apartments?Marin: The, uh, Milan ones.Burton: There are three sets of apartments.Marin: Alright I can go over and look and get the actual name. If it would make you feel better.Burton: What kind of property is getting destroyed?Marin: Look, I don't want to charge you with animal at large. I don't know why you are coming at me sideways.Burton: I'm just asking, what are they destroying?Marin: They are saying for their property. I haven't gone over there. This is all a phone call. I didn't there…I came over to see if…you….had them locked up and if they were even going over there at all. That's what I'm trying to figure out, 'kay?Burton: Where?Marin: I guess like yard decorations and pooping in the yard.Burton: OK but who?Marin: One of the apartments over there.Burton: Ok, I tell you what — when you figure out what the actual complaint is, and you have a complaint, I'll be more than happy to listen to it.Marin: Ok.Burton: I mean there are three apartments around here.Marin: I'll be back with your summons, is that alright?