North College Hill police chief fired, adding new wrinkle to city's year of instability

Yahoo

01-06-2025

North College Hill city officials have fired Police Chief Ryan Schrand after being on administrative leave for more than a year.
In a letter of termination that The Enquirer obtained, North College Hill city administrator Arious Dukes-Dean informed Schrand he was being removed as the city's police chief effective May 21. Dukes-Dean cites in the letter that her decision was "based on my lack of confidence in your ability to effectively lead the department."
Schrand's firing is the latest shakeup in an unstable year for North College Hill's city government. Since March 2024, 75% of the city's firefighters resigned and then rescinded their resignations, city officials placed Fire Chief Brian Fels and the longest-serving cop, Lt. Frank Petrocelli, on administrative leave, and the city's former administrator resigned.
The Enquirer has also sued the Cincinnati suburb for not fulfilling numerous public record's request in accordance with Ohio's public records law. This includes a records request for Schrand's personnel file.
The Enquirer contacted Schrand, who declined to comment.
More: Mysterious resignations, city secrets: What's happening in North College Hill?
Before the city fired Schrand, Mayor Tracie Nichols had placed him on leave on March 19, 2024. In a letter to Schrand, Nichols wrote she received multiple reports and complaints claiming Schrand "created a hostile work environment."
In one complaint, an officer, whose name was redacted, alleges that Schrand and other supervisors subjected her to "unfair treatment and harassment." The supervisors included Petrocelli, who resigned in February in light of allegations of theft and fraud.
The officer said inaccurate rumors had spread about her having an intimate relationship with another officer. Schrand repeatedly questioned her for it, even after she informed him that she and the other officer did not have anything beyond a close friendship.
She alleges Schrand had a "fixation" over the rumored relationship and would regularly ask other officers about it. In one instance outlined in her complaint, another officer had told her that Schrand said if he ever found out she lied about her relationship, he would "bury me, fire me immediately and go to the extent of putting me on the Brady list." The Brady list is a compilation of law enforcement officers and other staff who have credibility issues.
The officer said she was frustrated with the issues at the police department, so she resigned and started working at the Lebanon Police Department. However, she didn't think the new job was a good fit for her and asked Schrand to rescind her resignation.
Schrand accepted to bring her back, but two months later, the officer said she was placed under investigation for her "performance and activity, or lack thereof."
According to the complaint, Schrand assigned Lt. Emily Englebert to conduct the investigation but the officer filing the claims said that assignment represented a conflict of interest because Schrand had previously told her that Englebert called her the "anti-Christ."
The officer filed a grievance regarding the disciplinary write-up she received as a result of the investigation but said Schrand denied it without any further conversation. However, Schrand attached a letter to the grievance in which he said she had begged for her job back and he reluctantly took her back, the officer's complaint states.
The officer's complaint goes on to claim that Schrand would have "emotional outbursts" where he spoke disparagingly about the officer who filed the complaint and other employees.
"I feel unsafe, uncomfortable, and embarrassed going to work because of the assassination of my character and obvious mistreatment by the people who are supposed to lead this department," the officer wrote in the complaint.
Another complaint from a different officer states that Schrand would also let his anger affect working relationships with other agencies, harshly discipline some officers while giving a "free pass" to others, and threaten to fire officers when they underperformed instead of coaching and training them.
The second officer also said in the complaint that Schrand had a "golden rule," which was that "He wears the Eagles." If someone disagreed with him about complaints or morale, the second officer alleges, he would say, "I wear the Eagles and they have been serving since breakfast."
In 2013, when Schrand was still a sergeant with North College Hill police, the family of Corey McGinnis, a man who died after Schrand shocked him with a Taser, sued him, according to a report by Enquirer media partner Fox19.
The suit alleged Schrand unreasonably shocked McGinnis with a Taser on June 26, 2012, following an altercation during a basketball game. The lawsuit sought compensation for McGinnis' eight children, as well as Taser policy reforms.
A year later, the city of North College Hill and the McGinnis family settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $650,000 and agreed to a few changes to the city's Taser policy, Fox19 reported.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: North College Hill fires police Chief Ryan Schrand