Dispatcher placed on leave amid criminal investigation

FREMONT - A longtime dispatcher for the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office has been placed on paid leave after being the subject of a criminal investigation for the second time in a year.

Sheriff's Detective Capt. Zack Zender began the investigation of Adam Herrera last week but declined to comment on the nature of the investigation.

"He was placed on paid leave Feb. 4," Zender told The News-Messenger on Monday.

Herrera, who could not be reached for comment Monday, was investigated by the sheriff's office in February 2015 for allegedly coming to work under the influence of drugs and asking co-workers for prescription medication, according to records obtained by The News-Messenger through Freedom of Information Act requests.

According to the 2015 investigation conducted by Sheriff's Detective Capt. Sean O'Connell, several dispatchers who worked with Herrera said the dispatcher was coming to work under the influence, was asking for prescription medication, and called various doctors seeking to obtain prescription painkillers.

In lieu of discipline, Chief Deputy Bruce Hirt said Herrera was given verbal counseling regarding drug issues, but nothing was documented in the dispatcher's personnel file.

The News-Messenger has requested an updated version of Herrera's personnel file.

Hirt said there was no suspension or discipline of Herrera last year because the drugs were not controlled substances and Herrera was said to be dealing with a lot of issues both "personally and physically." Hirt said providing counseling was the appropriate course of action.

Eleven co-workers interviewed by O'Connell reported Herrera, an 11-year veteran of the department, had used pills ranging from the over-the-counter pain reliever ibuprofen to prescription medication, according to the investigation.

One of Herrera's colleagues said the dispatcher took medication from another co-worker's desk drawer and often appeared "zoned out" and glassy-eyed while on medication at work.

On at least 12 occasions, co-workers reported Herrera sleeping on the job, with one co-worker saying they found a pill on the floor where Herrera had been sitting.

Another colleague told O'Connell they noticed a decline in Herrera's performance, saying he came into work sluggish and failed to properly process routine paperwork.

Hirt said last month Herrera had no problems with work performance since the investigation ended before March 2015. Hirt was not available for comment Monday .

Along with his full-time duties as dispatcher, Herrera began working part-time in November as animal cruelty investigator for the Humane Society of Sandusky County.

The Humane Society, contacted Monday, said it was unaware Herrera had been placed on paid administrative leave.

The investigation into the dispatcher's use of pills comes to light at a time when Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer is under investigation by the Ohio Attorney General's Office for his role in collecting prescription pills from local police departments that had been turned in through drug take-back programs.

Overmyer told The News-Messenger he took the boxes of prescription pills as a sign of good faith and to reopen lines of communication between himself and other area law-enforcement officials.

The attorney general's investigation, which is ongoing, began after the pills reportedly went missing.

Overmyer, who faces a challenge for re-election from Clyde Police Chief Bruce Gower in the March 15 Republican primary, said he believes the allegations were politically motivated.

Last month Overmyer gave The News-Messenger a copy of a receipt from the Toledo Drug Enforcement Administration dated Sept. 28 showing the federal agency had collected 350 pounds of miscellaneous pills from the sheriff's office to be incinerated in Toledo.

The sheriff's office said Monday that, following Herrera's suspension, Corey Hessick was appointed interim supervisor of the communications dispatch center. In a news release, the sheriff's office said "new 911 rules and regulations had changes to the Communications Dispatch Center in the beginning discussion stage, however, due to the events of last week, the changes had to be implemented much quicker than originally anticipated."

The news release said Lisa Kuelling, director of Sandusky County Emergency Management Agency/911, has been named operations supervisor of the Sandusky County Communications Dispatch Center and  "will ensure compliance with the new 911 standards, as well as working in conjunction with Sheriff Overmyer to improve the overall standards of the Sandusky County Communications Division."

cshoup@gannett.com

419-334-1035

Twitter: CraigShoupNH