ELYRIA — An arbitrator has overturned the firing of an Ohio Highway Patrol trooper who was accused of failing to follow proper procedures and falsifying information about a Lorain police officer who was caught driving the wrong way on state Route 2 last year.
Arbitrator Sherrie Passmore wrote that Tammy Soto should be reinstated to her job and instead be suspended for three days. She will receive back pay for the time she hasn’t been working since she was fired in April.
Patrol Lt. Craig Cvetan said the patrol won’t challenge Soto’s reinstatement.
“This is a binding agreement, and the state is going to abide by the decision of the arbitrator,” he said.
Passmore upheld two of three rule violations the patrol had cited in the decision to fire her, but found that there wasn’t enough evidence to support that Soto had made false statements in connection with the arrest of Lorain police Officer Bill Lachner.
“While (it’s) understandable that (Soto’s) conduct at the scene of the stop raised suspicions, the Employer did not prove that she was trying to cover up for Lachner,” Passmore wrote.
A call to Soto’s union representative wasn’t returned Tuesday.
She also noted that “handling an incident involving a fellow officer is stressful and in this case was even more so for (Soto) because the officer worked with her husband.”
The incident began after a caller reported that Lachner’s pickup was going the wrong way on state Route 2 near state Route 58 about 2 a.m. Sept. 13, 2014.
Lorain County sheriff’s Sgt. Josh Croston tracked the vehicle down and flashed his lights until Lachner pulled over. Croston, who recognized Lachner, called the patrol to handle the matter because it took place on a highway.
When Soto arrived, she also recognized Lachner, who worked with her husband, Lorain police Officer Ed Soto, and told him to get in the back of her patrol car, Passmore wrote. Soto also told Lachner not to say anything and asked Croston if he had smelled alcohol on him, something the deputy denied smelling.
After checking the pickup’s registration, Soto turned Lachner’s truck around and parked it so it wasn’t facing oncoming traffic, Passmore wrote. As she was moving the pickup, two other troopers arrived and asked if she needed any assistance. Soto said she didn’t, and the other troopers left.
Soto then returned to her cruiser and asked Lachner where she should take him. She then turned off the recording device in her patrol car and told a dispatcher that she was taking Lachner to a friend’s house, saying that she “believe(d) it’s going to be a sleepy driver.”
Passmore noted that Soto told investigators that it was her practice to turn off the recording equipment in her cruiser when giving someone a ride home, something that wasn’t disputed by the patrol.
As she was driving with Lachner, Passmore wrote, Soto turned up the heat and closed her windows, which is a technique police use to enhance the smell of alcohol. As she was talking to Lachner, she noted that there was some indication he had been drinking and also smelled alcohol.
She also engaged in a series of text messages with Trooper Ray Santiago, who noted at one point in the exchange “That’s a badge in your car.”
A few minutes later, Soto called Sgt. Christopher Midkiff and told him she had an intoxicated police officer who had been driving the wrong way. Midkiff replied, “You know what you have to do.”
Soto then turned her car around and drove Lachner to the Amherst Police Department, turning her recording system back on when they arrived.
She also asked Lachner, “You’re not going to take any field sobriety tests, right?” Lachner replied that he was going to refuse the tests and also later rejected taking a breath test.
Passmore wrote in her decision that by that point Soto had already violated the patrol’s rules, including failing to properly investigate whether Lachner was drunk.
Soto also violated rules that required her to ask Lachner to allow her to pat him down before he was put in the cruiser, the decision said.
Where Passmore took issue with the investigation and punishment was when it came to whether Soto had falsified information.
That stemmed from changes that were made to the ticket Soto wrote to Lachner, who was initially charged in Vermilion Municipal Court with DUI and driving the wrong way. The patrol later said that was a mistake and the case was refiled in Oberlin Municipal Court, where Lachner pleaded no contest to the DUI charge and was given a fine and a suspended jail sentence. He also was required to attend a three-day driving course.
Passmore wrote that it appeared Soto initially intended to charge Lachner in Oberlin Municipal Court’s jurisdiction because that’s where Croston had stopped him. But after talking with Croston, who expressed a dislike for dealing with Oberlin Municipal Court because it had “unusual procedures and because trials took so long,” Soto decided to file the case in Vermilion’s jurisdiction,
the arbitrator wrote.
The patrol had suggested that Soto thought Lachner would get better treatment in Vermilion Municipal Court, but Passmore wrote that she didn’t believe that was Soto’s primary motivation.
Passmore also noted that Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will’s office reviewed the case using mostly the same information used in the arbitration and decided not to file a falsification charge against Soto.
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