[OH] Fired, reinstated Trooper Wlodarsky blamed girlfriend for crash, quits - and that stops investigation

He blamed his girlfriend for the drunken crash, but she was not having that.

Resigning as he's criminally charged stops the Highway Patrol investigation. Now if he can shake the charges, maybe he'll be back, again.

A state trooper [Eric Wlodarsky] who crashed a truck and was arrested for drunken driving early Sunday claimed his girlfriend was at the wheel, but she refused to lie for him... The woman said she was upset that Wlodarsky was trying to get her into trouble. She had known him for about one month and would not lie for him... Wlodarsky initially told a 911 dispatcher that he wanted the HIGHWAY PATROL to handle the crash investigation, but an Erie County sheriff's deputy arrived at the scene first... A witness who called the sheriff’s office to report the crash told a deputy the man walked straight from the truck to her and he “did not want her to call the police.” The woman said he was “drunk”... Eric E. Wlodarsky, 33, resigned Friday... The patrol had an administrative investigation into Wlodarsky, but that will be closed now that he no longer is an employee, spokeswoman Lt. Anne R. Ralston said...

Before Eric Wlodarsky was fired from the Ohio Highway Patrol and reinstated in 2008, he had taken and sent a photo of a fellow trooper costumed as klu klux klan  - and was accused by another trooper of not wanting to respond to a car of "niggers". He says he said Blacks.

EX-TROOPER ASKS COURT TO THROW OUT EVIDENCE IN DUI CASE
The Morning Journal
Richard Payerchin
Friday, November 18, 2011
[Excerpts] A former Highway Patrol trooper cited for drunken driving is asking the court to suppress evidence in the case, according to Erie County Municipal Court records. Eric E. Wlodarsky, 33, claims sheriff’s deputies wrongly questioned him and searched his black 2003 Ford F-150 pickup truck after an Oct. 30 where he is accused of running off SR 13 in Milan Township and hitting a tree. The motion to throw out the evidence also argued deputies did not properly conduct field sobriety tests and or use a valid breath sample to check Wlodarsky’s blood alcohol level. Wlodarsky was cited for driving under the influence, failure to control and possessing a weapon while intoxicated, according to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. He has pleaded innocent and has resigned from the Highway Patrol, where he was assigned to the Milan post to work on the Ohio Turnpike... [Full article here]

TROOPER CHARGED IN DRUNK DRIVING ACCIDENT RESIGNS
Fox 8 News
By Jack Shea
November 14, 2011
[Excerpts] The Ohio Highway Patrol trooper who was recently charged in a drunk driving incident and was also involved in a 2008 prank that some considered racist has turned in his badge. According to Lt. B.J. Smith with the Columbus Ohio State Patrol Office, Eric Wlodarsky resigned Friday... Deputies said Wlodarksy's pick-up truck careened out of control on State Route 13 outside Huron, hit a tree and then skidded across a lawn. The deputy's report indicates that the trooper failed a field sobriety test, blew a .133 on a breathalyzer, which is above the legal limit, and was carrying a loaded gun not issued by the state... Wlodarsky also made headlines in 2008 when he was fired by the highway patrol after taking a picture of a fellow trooper wearing a KKK outfit the day before Martin Luther King Day. The photo infuriated many people, including then Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, who demanded that the troopers lose their jobs. But an arbitrator later reinstated Wlodarksy and the other trooper, ruling that the firings violated their union contract. [Full article here]

TROOPER RESIGNS FROM FORCE; PATROL’S INVESTIGATION INTO WLODARSKY’S CHARGES CLOSED
The Morning Journal
Richard Payerchin
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
[Excerpts] A Highway Patrol trooper cited for driving drunk has resigned from the force. Eric E. Wlodarsky, 33, resigned Friday effective that day. Wlodarsky was cited for driving under the influence, failure to control and possessing a weapon while intoxicated, for a crash on SR 13 about 12:49 a.m. Oct. 30, according to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. The patrol had an administrative investigation into Wlodarsky, but that will be closed now that he no longer is an employee, spokeswoman Lt. Anne R. Ralston said. Wlodarsky was one of three troopers who made headlines in 2008 for a prank involving photographing a trooper wearing a makeshift Ku Klux Klan costume while on duty. He was disciplined, then fired at the order of then Gov. Ted Strickland, before being reinstated when he won an appeal... The Erie County Sheriff’s Office responded to a non-injury crash in the 10500 block of SR 13 on Oct. 30... The truck had heavy damag... The deputy recognized Wlodarsky, who appeared unsteady on his feet. Wlodarsky asked how the deputy would handle the incident and the deputy said he would investigate it as he would any other crash, the report said. The deputy reported a “strong odor of intoxicating beverages on Wlodarsky’s breath”... He failed field sobriety tests and a portable breath test showed he had a blood alcohol level of 0.154... Deputies found beer bottles... A wine bottle was on the front passenger side floor and a Bud Light bottle was on the ground on the passenger side... Deputies also found a Glock 27 handgun in a black holster in a pocket attached to the rear of the driver’s seat... A witness who called the sheriff’s office to report the crash told a deputy the man walked straight from the truck to her and he “did not want her to call the police.” The woman said he was “drunk,” according to the report... [Full article here]

GIRLFRIEND WOULD NOT LIE FOR TROOPER WHO SAID SHE DROVE THE CRASHED TRUCK DURING OVI ARREST
The Morning Journal
By Richard Payerchin
Published: Tuesday, November 01, 2011
[Excerpts] A state trooper who crashed a truck and was arrested for drunken driving early Sunday claimed his girlfriend was at the wheel, but she refused to lie for him, according to an Erie County sheriff’s report. Trooper Eric E. Wlodarsky was cited for driving under the influence, failure to control and possessing a weapon while intoxicated, for the incident about 12:49 a.m. Sunday... Wlodarsky was one of three troopers who made headlines in 2008 for a prank involving photographing a trooper wearing a makeshift Ku Klux Klan costume while on duty. He was disciplined, then fired at the order of the governor, then reinstated upon appeal... When the deputy asked if Wlodarsky was driving [during the recent crash], he said he was. Wlodarsky then claimed his passenger, a 27-year-old woman from Cincinnati, was driving, the report said. The woman said she was upset that Wlodarsky was trying to get her into trouble. She had known him for about one month and would not lie for him... [Full article here]

REPORT: ARRESTED TROOPER BLAMED WRECK ON GIRLFRIEND
By Jack Shea
Fox 8 News Reporter
October 31, 2011
[Excerpts] An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper, who was fired and later reinstated for a 2008 incident that some people considered racist, is in hot water again. The Erie County sheriff's department said Trooper Eric Wlodarsky was involved in a suspected drunk driving accident early Sunday while off duty. Deputies said Wlodarksy's pick-up truck careened out of control on State Route 13 outside Huron, hit a tree and then skidded across a lawn. Wlodarsky initially told a 911 dispatcher that he wanted the highway patrol to handle the crash investigation, but an Erie County sheriff's deputy arrived at the scene first... Wlodarsky lied to the deputy about what happened. Captain Paul Sigsworth told Fox 8, "Initially tried to say that his girlfriend was driving the truck. The deputy questioned him a bit further based on statements not only Trooper Wlodarsky was making, but also the female passenger and eventually Mr. Wlodarski admitted, in fact, that he was driving the truck." The sheriff's department said Eric Wlodarsky is being treated like any other drunk driving suspect involved in an accident, while carrying a loaded gun. "It was handled appropriately, it was handled professionally, and it was handled by the book," said Sigsworth... [Full article here]

TROOPER ACCUSED BEFORE OF MAKING RACIST COMMENT
Sandusky Register
11:00 PM
APR 15, 2008
[Excerpts] One of the Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers involved in a KKK prank said he is not a racist, but admitted he was “counseled previously for racial gestures or slurs.” Trooper Eric E. Wlodarsky admitted he snapped a photo of Trooper Craig T. Franklin, who was wearing KKK-like garb, while both were on duty at the Sandusky post Jan. 20 — just one day before Martin Luther King Day. Wlodarsky then forwarded the photo, which he took with a cell phone camera, to Sgt. Jason P. Demuth... An audio recording from the investigation into the photo revealed Wlodarsky was counseled for an incident that occurred while he was assigned to the Mansfield post in 2006. Wlodarsky’s counseling stemmed from an administrative investigation conducted by the patrol last summer after another trooper made several allegations about the patrol. The trooper claimed that in November 2006 Wlodarsky failed to respond for back-up on a traffic stop of a car carrying a group of black males — and instead went to deliver Cleveland Browns tickets to an off-duty trooper. The trooper said that when he phoned Wlodarsky to ask why he did not respond, Wlodarsky told him: “We can’t send an officer to back up another every time we stop a carload of niggers. What would the motoring public think?” The call was made from a nonrecorded line at the Mansfield post to Wlodarsky’s cell phone, according to the investigation. The trooper who made the allegations told the Register he has since been fired for untruthfulness. Wlodarsky made a similar comment to a dispatcher, but did not use the n-word, the dispatcher said. During an administrative investigation in July 2007, Wlodarsky admitted making the comment to a dispatcher, but said he did not use the n-word. “He said he used the word ‘blacks’... On Tuesday, Wlodarsky again admitted to making comments about not responding to traffic stops for blacks, but said he never used any insensitive racial language... Joshua Engel, chief legal counsel for the Department of Public Safety, said he was aware Wlodarsky had received previous counseling as a result of information uncovered in an administrative investigation. “It’s sort of a talking to,” Engel said of the counseling. “They don’t get put in the personnel file. It’s not considered a formal discipline”... [Full article here]


ARBITRATOR: KLAN PRANKSTERS GET PATROL JOBS BACK
Sandusky Register Staff
Nov 06 2008
[Excerpts] On the day the country voted Barack Obama in as the first black U.S. president, an arbitrator ruled two Ohio State troopers fired for a racially insensitive prank must be given their jobs back. Susan Grody Ruben ruled Tuesday that because Eric Wlodarsky and Craig Franklin signed a last-chance agreement to retain their jobs after the incident, they could not be fired, even though Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland ordered their termination. Grody Ruben decided the troopers should be reinstated in their jobs within 30 calendar days and receive full backpay and benefits. She also said the last-chance agreements should be reinstated for 24 months. That means if either man is disciplined for a similar incident in the next two years, he can be fired... "The governor is disappointed, but the administration will comply with the decision of the arbitration board to reinstate the troopers," Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey wrote in ane-mail to the Register. Larry Phillips, president of the Ohio State Trooper Association, said Grody Ruben followed the law in making her decision... On Jan. 20, the day before the Martin Luther King Day, Franklin, while on duty at the Sandusky post, dressed up in a makeshift costume that resembled those worn by members of the KKK. Wlodarsky, who was also on duty, snapped a picture of Franklin with a cell phone and then sent the picture to trooper Sgt. Jason Demuth. A copy of the picture was sent anonymously to patrol brass who investigated... After the Register exposed the incident, the Sandusky NAACP met with state patrol superintendent Richard H. Collins and called for the troopers to be fired. Soon after, Strickland ordered that Wlodarsky and Franklin be terminated. On May 2, following a pre-disciplinary hearing, the two were axed... [Full article here]

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