Police officer gets harsher sentence than similar cases

FREMONT — A police officer who left the scene of a crash received a harsher punishment — including an order to put a breath-testing machine in his personal vehicle — than people with similar cases, a prosecutor said.

Fremont Police Department Officer George Dorsey accepted a plea deal Tuesday on charges of driving drunk and causing a crash in February and likely will avoid jail time.

Dorsey, who is the police department's K-9 handler, pleaded no contest and was found guilty in Fremont Municipal Court of one misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident.

He was initially charged with one misdemeanor count each of drunken driving and failure to yield from a stop sign. Through the plea deal, the DUI charge was amended to leaving the scene, and the stop sign charge was dismissed, said Dorsey's attorney, Terry Rudes, of Port Clinton.

"We felt it was in the best interest of everyone to resolve it without a trial," Rudes said. "He wanted to assume responsibility for his actions.

"I would have loved to try it. I think we could have gotten a not guilty on the DUI charge."

Retired visiting Judge Kevin Smith, of Findlay, sentenced Dorsey to 30 days in jail but suspended 20 and will suspend the remaining 10 if Dorsey successfully completes 50 hours of community service and a three-day driver intervention program. He also will be on probation for a year and pay a $250 fine.

The machine installed in his personal vehicle will require him to blow into a device to determine whether he has been drinking before he can drive, said Matthew Reger, the Bowling Green prosecutor who was assigned as a special prosecutor to handle the case.

This is the first time Reger has seen a defendant convicted of leaving the scene of an accident be ordered to have the machine in his car and take a driving class.

"We knew alcohol was involved," Reger said. "This isn't just about punishment. It's about trying to address the issues."

Dorsey was off duty when he crashed his personal SUV into another vehicle at 1:53 a.m. Feb. 17 at Moore Street and White Avenue and then left the scene in February, according to Fremont police reports. No one was hurt.

Thirteen minutes after the crash, Dorsey called Fremont police Capt. Jim White and reported what happened, police records show.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol handled the investigation. Troopers did not talk to Dorsey until about an hour and a half after the crash, which was too late for field sobriety tests or a breath test, Reger said.

The trooper was delayed in talking to Dorsey because the trooper was at the scene and was dealing with the other driver, who also was charged with drunken driving, Reger said.

"The defendant claimed — and we had no way to refute it — that he had consumed alcohol after the accident," Reger said of Dorsey. "From an evidence standpoint, it was a tough case to prove. Jurors usually want a little more evidence than we had."

The trooper did not charge Dorsey with leaving the scene of an accident because Dorsey did call a commanding officer to report the crash, Reger said.

"There was a technical issue of whether or not he did report it when he called Fremont police," Reger said. "From our standpoint, he should have stopped and waited for somebody to arrive."

Dorsey was initially put on paid leave. In March, the city took him off leave and has been having him do office work at the police department. He is not allowed to wear a uniform, carry a gun or use city-owned vehicles.

Whether he will remain a police department employee has not been determined.

Former Fremont Safety-Service Director Ken Myers is reviewing the police department's internal investigation into the incident. Dorsey will have a disciplinary hearing before Myers at 10 a.m. June 11 at City Hall, White said.

"He has been a very good officer for the city," Rudes said. "I have had more people comment to me for George Dorsey than probably any other client. A lot of people think he is an asset to the community and the police department."

The other driver involved in the crash, Justin Young, 33, of Fremont, pleaded no contest and was found guilty in March of one misdemeanor count of drunken driving.

A judge sentenced him to 30 days in jail, with 27 days suspended. The other three also will be suspended as long as Young completes a three-day driver intervention program. His license was suspended for a year.

mksmith@gannett.com

419-334-1044

Twitter: @kristinasmithNM