...The woman told deputies that Gearhart shoved her head under water, trying to drown her... Gearhart has had to defend himself in the past. In 2008, he was fired from his job as a police officer in Columbus after investigators said he improperly used his work computer. Police said he also faces charges for lying to investigators for pulling a gun on his step-sister’s boyfriend...
January 2011 VIDEO:
NEWS EXCERPTS FROM 2008 THROUGH 2011:
COLUMBUS OFFICER CHARGED OVER CIRCLEVILLE INCIDENT
The Columbus Dispatch
By Theodore Decker
and Debbie Gebolys
June 12, 2008 3:03 AM
[Excerpts] A Columbus police officer faces criminal charges after he became involved in a family fight last week in Circleville. Joshua E. Gearhart, 26, of 506 Forestview Court, Circleville, is charged with menacing, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and falsification, a first-degree misdemeanor. The charges stem from a June 5 disagreement involving Gearhart's stepfather and his stepsister's boyfriend, Gearhart's attorney Mark Collins said. Gearhart stopped the third man and drew his gun on him. He and his stepfather incorrectly told Circleville police that the boyfriend was wanted by police. Circleville police records were unavailable last night, and Columbus police didn't return calls about Gearhart's status. He is due in court on July 7... [Full article here]
NOVEMBER 2009 VIDEO:
POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF EX-GIRLFRIEND
Dayton Daily News
By Lucas Sullivan
Monday, November 23, 2009, 03:44 PM
[Excerpts] WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County - A Columbus-area police officer [Whitehall Police Officer Joshua Gearhart] is in Montgomery County Jail on an attempted murder charge after he allegedly abducted his ex-girlfriend and tried to drown her in a ditch... Deputies found the woman covered in mud and grass clippings and soaking wet at a Shell Gas Station... The woman said Gearhart, a former Columbus police officer, drove from there and the two went out Saturday night, Landis said. At some point, Gearhart requested she “do something for him,” and made threats that he would harm her if she didn’t, Landis said... Gearhart allegedly tried to drown the woman in the ditch, but failed... County prosecutors today approved a felony abduction charge against Gearhart, which allowed deputies to get a warrant that will keep him in jail... Gearhart was fired from the Columbus Police Department last fall after an internal investigation... [Full article here]
NOVEMBER 2009 VIDEO:
EX-COLUMBUS POLICE OFFICER JAILED IN ASSAULT ON WOMAN
The Columbus Dispatch
By Jim Woods
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 3:20 AM
[Excerpts] ...Joshua Gearhart, 27, was arrested Sunday morning and charged with assault and abduction. Montgomery County deputies said they answered a report of a woman wandering in the road and found a woman covered with mud... She told deputies she had been with Gearhart in his truck when he demanded that she "do something for him" and made threats to harm her if she didn't. She grabbed the keys from his truck and fled. Gearhart caught up with her and the two wrestled in a ditch full of water, she told deputies. Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer told The Dayton Daily News that Gearhart tried to drown her... Gearhart, of Circleville, was dismissed from his job as a Columbus police officer in September 2008 after an incident several months before. In June 2008, Circleville police charged Gearhart with falsification and menacing after a fight with his stepfather and his stepsister's boyfriend. The charges eventually were dropped after Gearhart completed a diversion program... But an internal Columbus police investigation as a result of the Circleville case found that Gearhart had misused a police computer system, and that led to his firing... Yesterday, Ray Ogden, Whitehall's director of public service... [Full article here]
COMMENTS:
Ex-Columbus police officer jailed in assault on woman
Columbus Dispatch
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AUXILIARY OFFICER FIRED AMID CLAIMS HE TRIED TO DROWN GIRLFRIEND
10tv.com
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
[Excerpts] Formal charges were expected to be filed Tuesday against a Whitehall auxiliary officer accused of trying to drown his girlfriend in a ditch. The accusations against Joshua Gearhart surfaced over the weekend in the Dayton-area... An unsuspecting driver spotted the woman wandering in the road, and called 911... Sheriff's deputies found the woman covered in mud and soaking wet at a gas station... Gearhart, 27, was fired from the Columbus Division of Police in September 2008 after an internal investigation revealed he had improperly used a police computer system. During his time with the department, Gearhart was also charged in Circleville for pulling a gun on his stepsister's boyfriend and then lying to investigators. He later completed a court-ordered diversion program and misdemeanor falsification and menacing charges were dismissed... [Full article here]
AUXILIARY OFFICER PLEADS NOT GUILTY
WHIOTV.com
November 24, 2009
[Excerpts] Police said a man [Joshua Gearhart] who is an Air Force veteran, a Wright State student and a volunteer police officer is facing charges of abduction after he allegedly tried to drown his ex-girlfriend... Authorities said Gearhart’s ex-girlfriend ran from him in fear for nearly two miles, seeking help...Gearhart was arrested early Sunday morning after drivers on Leona Lane began calling 911. Sheriff’s deputies said drivers were calling, saying that a woman was staggering down the middle of Route 725. The woman made it to the Shell Station, soaking wet and covered in mud by the time deputies caught up with her. They said the woman was on a date with Gearhart when the two got into an argument in his truck. Investigators said she threw his keys out the window and then jumped out of the vehicle herself. Deputies said Gearhart chased the woman down the embankment and two began fighting. The woman told deputies that Gearhart shoved her head under water, trying to drown her... Gearhart has had to defend himself in the past. In 2008, he was fired from his job as a police officer in Columbus after investigators said he improperly used his work computer. Police said he also faces charges for lying to investigators for pulling a gun on his step-sister’s boyfriend... Gearhart has been terminated as a auxiliary police officer with the city of Whitehead... [Full article here]
EX-WHITEHALL AUXILIARY POLICE OFFICER ACQUITTED
WBNS-10TV
Friday, January 14, 2011 6:22 AM
[Excerpts] A former Whitehall auxiliary police officer is starting over after a jury acquitted him of charges stemming from the alleged assault and abduction of his girlfriend... "She accused me of choking her, holding her down in a ditch of water," [Josh"] Gearhart said. "And I didn't touch her. I didn't do anything at all... You're disappointed, you know? You worked hard to try to get to this point, then a matter of someone alleging something, it's gone... It was like a nightmare. I never pictured myself being behind bars, or anything like that before... I would never do that to anybody... It just hurt me they could say I could do that to somebody when all I want to do is help people and do my job right"... [Full article here]
COMMENTS:
Ex-Whitehall Auxiliary Police Officer Acquitted | WBNS-10TV, Central Ohio 10TV WBNS
Read 20 Comments
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public safety lethal attempted murder teflon repeat hx ohio state]
I know Josh Gearhart and he would NEVER harm anyone. This is false.
ReplyDeleteReally? Then you had better tell the Court Records Office, National Records Office and the Columbus TV Stations that they have all got it wrong!
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