[OH] Fired, rehired regardless of protection order violation, then allowed-to-resign ex-officer Young gets to plea bargain away 2 felonies

A former Marion police officer [Mark Young] pleaded guilty to one count related to the misuse of the law enforcement automated data system... The other two counts were dismissed in a plea agreement... His employment at the department was terminated previously in December 1999 after it was found he had committed a code of conduct violation. That investigation accompanied a criminal charge of violation of a protection order. Young was arrested on Dec. 12, 1999, after an altercation outside a Marion bar with his wife... Marion Municipal Court records show Young was convicted of the misdemeanor charge... Arbitration following his termination lead to his reinstatement with the department about six months after his was fired... Internal affairs investigations are kept for only five years and removed from personnel files after two...

FORMER MARION POLICE OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY
Trial was to begin today
The Marion Star
By Jessica Cuffman jcuffman@marionstar.com
January 28, 2010
[EXCERPTS] A former Marion police officer pleaded guilty to one count related to the misuse of the law enforcement automated data system. Mark A. Young, 56, pleaded Wednesday in Marion County Common Pleas Court, said Assistant County Prosecutor Dave Stamolis. Young's trial on THREE counts of improper use of a telecommunications device, all fifth-degree felonies, was to begin today. He resigned in February, the same day he pleaded not guilty to the three charges. His trial had been continued multiple times since then because of unavailability of counsel and witnesses. He faces up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine on the single charge. The other two counts were dismissed in a plea agreement... Prosecutor Brent Yager said his office did the plea agreement in large part because the incidents "all happened fairly close to one another in time." He said he doubted the "outcome would be any different" regarding the sentence had Young been convicted of all three charges... Yager said Young's being a police officer wasn't a factor in the prosecutor's handling of the case. "I think what you try to do is treat it like other cases," Yager said. "He broke the law. Should he be punished worse because he's a police officer? Maybe not, because being a police officer is why he had access to LEADS (the database). You really can't violate that section if you're not a police officer, and it's not a crime of violence or anything. We try to treat people equally." If sentenced to serve time, it wouldn't be Young's first stay behind bars. He was convicted of misdemeanor violation of a protection order after a fight with his estranged wife in December 1999. Young was fired the same month for using his badge to try to obtain information at a hotel about the estranged wife, who he suspected was there. An arbitrator later ruled Young should be reinstated as a police officer, though the city had found four violations of general rules of officer conduct. The arbitrator ruled three of the complaints were minor violations, not warranting termination. They included conduct unbecoming of an officer, abuse of official position and concealment of material facts. The city had filed a final grievance - that Young had committed a criminal violation. But the arbitrator ruled Young had not been found guilty in court before his termination. Before his February resignation, Young had signed a last-chance agreement after a series of conduct violations. Young was a police officer for about 19 years. He was paid $25.84 an hour and $53,747 a year... [Full article here]

From last year:

MARION POLICE OFFICER SUBJECT OF INVESTIGATION
Marion Star - Marion,OH,USA
12 February 2009
[EXCERPTS] Details of an investigation pending against a Marion Police Officer are not yet being released, said Maj. Randy Caryer, internal affairs commander. Ptl. Mark Young was placed on paid administrative leave Friday. Caryer declined to comment on why until the investigation is finished. Safety Director Tom Robbins said he was not permitted to discuss personnel matters until they came to a conclusion... The investigation follows an unrelated resignation of another officer... Young signed a last chance agreement with the department in April 2007, after three allegations of misconduct were founded. He had made false or misleading statements in connection with employment, permitted an unauthorized person to ride in a police cruiser and violated the code of ethics... Young had placed contraband for prisoners inside a vehicle taken to Marion Correctional Institution to be detailed and on returning from the prison transported an unauthorized civilian in a police cruiser for personal reasons. During the investigation, he then made inconsistent statements to investigators and further violated the code of ethics by not conducting his life so citizens would regard him as an example of honesty, integrity and morality. It was determined termination of employment would have been appropriate, according to the investigation file, and the last chance agreement was instituted... His employment at the department was terminated previously in December 1999 after it was found he had committed a code of conduct violation. That investigation accompanied a criminal charge of violation of a protection order. Young was arrested on Dec. 12, 1999, after an altercation outside a Marion bar with his wife. Five days later, former Safety/Service Director Dale Osborn initiated his termination. Marion Municipal Court records show Young was convicted of the misdemeanor charge and sentenced to 10 days in jail, five of which were suspended. Arbitration following his termination lead to his reinstatement with the department about six months after his was fired. He originally was hired in 1990. Internal affairs investigations are kept for only five years and removed from personnel files after two. As part of the April 2007 disciplinary action, Young was offered the option of signing the last chance agreement, a letter that termination would not ensue if he did not violate the terms of the agreement for two years. Those terms included no violations of general orders of the police department policy and procedure manual and service of a 120-hour suspension without grievance. Young also was involved in two other, unrelated internal affairs investigations conducted in 2007... In 2006, Young was suspended for two days, one each for two incidents... He also was given a written reprimand for engaging in profane language while on the job earlier that year... [Full article here]

POLICE OFFICER QUITS AFTER HE'S ACCUSED OF SNOOPING
Law-enforcement database
The Columbus Dispatch
By Dana Wilson dwilson@dispatch.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 3:13 AM
[EXCERPTS] A city police officer has resigned amid charges that he improperly used a state law-enforcement computer system while on duty. Mark A. Young, 55, of Marion, resigned Monday before a pre-disciplinary conference to discuss his alleged violations of police department policies, said Maj. Randy Caryer of the Marion Police Department. Young was indicted Thursday on three counts of unauthorized use of property. He is accused of misusing the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS), a confidential law-enforcement database that tracks warrants and criminal histories. The investigation began Jan. 30 when another officer reported witnessing what he thought was a violation of LEADS rules the day before, Caryer said. He said an internal review showed that Young used LEADS to look up "people he shouldn't have." Young's past includes an arrest for violating a civil protection order during a divorce. He was fired by the police department but later reinstated after an arbitrator ruled in his favor, Caryer said. [LINK]
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