The firing was for “conduct unbecoming an officer” involving the OVI arrest, according to the letter signed by Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Thomas Stickrath.
The move came fewer than two weeks after the 20-year trooper dropped an attempt in Miamisburg Municipal Court to suppress his July 23 arrest outside a West Carrollton bar, as well as his comments to police.
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“It was found that while off-duty, you were involved in a private property crash and arrested for OVI, which brought discredit to the division,” Stickrath’s letter states.
Shockey is appealing the termination, according to the OSHP. Shockey’s criminal attorney, Christian Cavalier, said he is not representing Shockey in the appeal of his firing.
Shockey was cited for OVI, failure to control and hit-skip on private property in connection to the crash, West Carrollton police records show.
Court records in the case have been sealed, officials said.
When trooper misconduct firings occur, it is commonly after due process, said Lt. Craig Cventan.
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“Typically, they will wait until the criminal case is over……It depends on how severe a case it is and how it impacts the division,” Cventan said.
The status of the criminal case is unclear. Judge Robert Rettich III on Dec. 30 “signed an entry and order sealing case records pending resolution of defendant’s employment appeal,” Miamisburg Clerk of Courts Amanda Zennie said in an email.
Cavalier declined to comment on the case’s status, citing Rettich’s sealing of records.
Earlier, Rettich had restricted online access to records in the case, according to the clerk’s office.
On July 23, police responded to Sparky’s Lounge off Ohio 725 around 2:45 p.m. after receiving the report of a crash. Witnesses told police Shockey had left the scene in his white Ford F-150 after he was accused of striking a maroon Jaguar, a report showed.
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Shockey was placed on leave without pay after the charges, the state patrol said. He was reinstated fewer than two weeks later after he was granted limited driving privileges by Rettich, court records show.
The state patrol opened an administrative investigation into Shockey when it learned of his arrest, according to Cventan
“Until that investigation was complete, disciplinary action could not occur,” he said in an email. “Once the administrative investigation was completed and reviewed, the decision was made to terminate his employment.”
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