“We’re a professional organization. My deputies take thousands and thousands of calls a year and unfortunately, a deputy made a poor decision,” Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said. “Speaking with him, he thought that it wasn’t that serious a violation and he didn’t want to put a record on an 18-year-old.”
“He just made the wrong decision and that decision cost him his career,” Streck said. “In his opinion, he did the wrong thing and it cost him his career and he’s going to move onto something else in his life.”
Hammond responded around 1 p.m. Nov. 10 to the 2000 block of Cadie Avenue in Harrison Twp. on a criminal damaging complaint, which turned into a domestic complaint, according to an internal investigation report obtained by the Dayton Daily News through public records requests. James also arrived on the scene around that time, the report says.
The internal investigation says that a complaint was made that a man was breaking mirrors and seats on a vehicle.
It also says body camera footage captured three family members and a witness report that a physical altercation took place and threats of serious physical harm were made by the man. It says a woman told Hammond that the man said he was going to shoot and kill her. The woman also told Hammond that the man kicked open the bathroom door on a pregnant woman and threatened to kill her and her baby.
The man told the deputy that he had been “jumped” and beaten by his family, the report says. It also says the vehicle’s title was in his name but was being driven by one of the family members.
The internal investigation said that Hammond told the family that the only charge the man could face was criminal damaging fpr the bathroom door and that it was not an arrestable offense unless he saw it occur.
“(The family) quickly responded to Deputy Hammond saying (the man) needed to go to jail, and he would come back,” the internal investigation says. The report says Hammond explained to the family how to file a protection order.
After the family argued with the man again outside, the pregnant woman showed Hammond the inside of her right arm and said she wanted to press charges against the man because he kicked the door in on her, the door hit her and she had a witness.
“Deputy Hammond told (the woman) he had to follow the law how it was written and told her (the man’s) actions of kicking the door and the door hitting her was not a crime,” the report says. “Deputy Hammond proceeded to tell her his hands were tied and legally there was nothing he could do there.”
The man was allowed to leave the scene, the report says.
The people at the home continued to demand that the man be arrested and James told the family that everything they were complaining about was a civil matter, focusing on the issue with the vehicle, the report says. The scene was cleared at that time.
However, later authorities would be back at the home, the internal investigation said.
“The investigation completed by responding deputies revealed (the man) returned to the residence, got into another argument and shot (a person),” the internal investigation says. “The shooting … could have been avoided if (the man) would have been arrested on the first initial domestic violence call handled by Deputy Hammond.”
The internal investigation says the person was shot in his thigh and reports said that the victim suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
The alleged shooter however was not indicted in connection to the shooting and Streck said that the office has had issues getting the victim and witnesses to cooperate in the shooting investigation. The suspect was charged in municipal court with felonious assault, but those charges were dropped. He said authorities are still working on the case.
The internal investigation found that Hammond violated three professional conduct rules including unsatisfactory performance, and his domestic dispute report stated that there was no violence, threats of violence, nor was there evidence of violence.
James was found to have failed to act on the allegations of domestic violence threats and it was deemed improper conduct, the internal investigation says.
About the Author
