GALION — The Galion Police Department has
suspended Officer John Bourne for 80 hours for negligently handling evidence in
a case Aug. 4, according to police Chief Brian C. Saterfield.
Bourne will receive 40 hours of unpaid suspension and he will have 40 hours
of his vacation time bank removed as part of the suspension.
Bourne last week pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty, a fourth-degree
misdemeanor, in Crawford County Municipal Court.
The charge reads in part that Bourne “did negligently fail to perform a
lawful duty in a criminal case or proceeding” between Aug. 4 and Aug. 6. He
received a suspended 30-day jail sentence, was placed on non-reporting
probation and ordered to pay court costs.
Bourne was accused of stealing money from a resident during an arrest, and
has been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 14. He is scheduled to return
to his normal work shift Friday.
On Aug. 4, Bourne and his partner, Officer Andrew Knee, went to a residence
in the 300 block of Grove Avenue looking for a man wanted on a warrant. They
contacted a 42-year-old man who was acting suspiciously, according to the
police report.
When Bourne approached the man, he became “fidgety,” ran inside and
admitted flushing an eighth of an ounce of marijuana down the toilet, police
said.
Bourne arrested the man on charges of tampering with evidence and
obstructing official business and seized $731 from him.
The next day, the Crawford County Prosecutor’s Office said it would not be
charging the man and advised police to release him and return his property.
Only $599 was in the evidence envelope.
