FREMONT
– A Fremont police officer is on unpaid leave after he was charged with
misusing a law enforcement information system.
A
grand jury indicted Officer Donnale Williams, 40, Toledo, on one felony count
of unauthorized use of the Law Enforcement Automated Database System. The
charge was filed Nov. 20 in Sandusky County Common Pleas Court.
Law
enforcement officers use LEADS to obtain information on traffic stops and
during investigations.
Williams
has pleaded not guilty to the charge. A hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. April 3.
Fremont Safety-Service Director Bob Ward
put Williams on paid leave Nov. 13 and then changed the leave to unpaid on Nov.
26.
Sandusky
County Prosecutor Tom Stierwalt and Fremont police Capt. Jim White declined to
discuss the specifics of the case.
The
police department conducted internal and criminal investigations, done
separately by a sergeant and a captain, after there was an allegation that
Williams had committed a crime while on duty, White said.
The
alleged incident took place Oct. 1 at the police station on West State Street,
according to the indictment.
“Once
we learned of it, we acted immediately on it,” White said of the allegation.
Williams’
police file shows three verbal warnings. The most recent was March 29, when he
was 23 minutes late for work.
He
received another warning Jan. 2 for being nearly three hours late for work.
And
in July 2012, he received a warning for failing to report his cruiser had been
scratched.
Williams’
duty weapon also was stolen from his home in January 2012, and he was given a
“verbal counseling,” according to his personnel file. The gun was later
recovered in Cleveland, according to his personnel file.
He
was issued a new gun and advised to keep the weapon in his locker at the police
station or buy a safe to lock it up at home.
