Mayor Gary Pepperling 116 Liberty St Amsterdam Ohio 43903 March 28, 2018 Dear Mayor Pepperling: I have received notification from Chief Cimperman of my termination, and the causes that he lists for that termination and I am taking this opportunity to respond and set the record straight on a few of the items he listed in the termination notice. The Chief continues to blame his problems on his officers instead of taking responsibility himself. I will try and explain what happened and the events that caused great concern in the handling of the Police Department. You are the Chief Safety Officer for the Village of Amsterdam and I have a duty to report to you sir the actions of the officers appointed above me that I believe are acting improperly. Some time ago it was brought to my attention by some of our officers that the Chief was under investigation by the Cuyahoga County Sheriffs Office, and other agencies within the state of Ohio. I asked the officers how they knew this and they stated that they had given statements to the investigators concerning the Chiefs activities. Additionally I learned that a Police ID card was taken by one of the investigators from one of our officers during the interview as evidence. I also remembered that during one of my meetings with the Chief he stated to me and another officer that he was going to get some ID cards for new officers, and that he used to make them on an Ohio lottery ID card machine. Knowing all this information, I believed that the seizing of the ID card by the investigator may have been an investigation into the theft of ID cards from the Ohio Lottery Commission. I was concerned that officers employed by the Amsterdam Police Department may be inadvertently walking around with stolen property in their possession. I reached out to this investigator and voiced my concerns and he advised me of the nature of the investigation and asked me some questions about the Chief and his activities with Brandon and part time work. He also assured me that the ID cards was not a concern or focus of the investigation. At no time did I give any written or sworn statement to the investigator, but I did honestly answered his questions about the Chief, and I was even still in possession of the text messages sent to me by the Chief proving the truthfulness of my answers. It is the responsibility of every officer to cooperate with any active criminal investigation. A short time later I learned that a number of individuals were coming forward that were in possession of Amsterdam Police Identification cards and badges that had been given to them by the Chief. I contacted the State of Ohio OPOTA commission and was advised that these individuals were not listed on our roster and were not actually sworn officers. (see State of Ohio Police Roster Attachment A). Some of these individuals had been given a police badge and ID card and were under the belief that they were sworn officers with our department, however they were not. The responsibility to deliver the SF 400 Swearing in form to the state of Ohio is the host swearing agency, not the officer who is being sworn in. People were believing they were officers, and never really were. I am not sure how many people have a badge and ID card from your police department however I know of several people personally. (see attached photo and badge belonging to Dshaun Thompson Attachment B) Additionally I learned that there was an individual, Eddie Wilson III that was arrested for Kidnapping, Burglary, and Carrying a Concealed Weapon that was in possession of an Amsterdam Police ID Card, and Badge. When asked about this the Chief stated Wilson never filled out the paperwork so he was never really an officer. This is not correct. Again the responsibility to submit the paperwork to the State is that of the host agency, not the officer. Eddie Wilson III even had a letter signed by the Chief that is currently on file with the Tenable Security Company that he is an officer in good standing with the Amsterdam Police Department. This document was signed by the Chief. Wilson cannot be an officer in good standing without the proper paperwork completed and submitted to the State of Ohio. Eddie Wilson recently plead Guilty in court to multiple felonies and is currently incarcerated. (see court record for Eddie Wilson II Attachment C) I have spoke to the Chief about conducting proper background checks on officers and having proper personnel file that may be viewed by yourself and council but he refused. A proper background check protects the village so that discredit and shame won’t come to the village or the agency because of officers that should have never been sworn in due to a poor character or criminal behavior, however the Chief failed to act on my requests. Mr. Mayor as I performed my monthly eight hours at home and at the village during the months of December and January I learned of another action that caused me great concern. I learned that Narcotics had been improperly handled by the Chief and Brandon Lawrence. Upon going through the office looking for keys and other equipment I found a bag of suspected marijuana with a hand written note from Patrolman Brandon Lawrence with a few details of the suspected narcotics. The marijuana may or may not have been laced with other drugs, but it was never sent in for testing. They were not properly secured within an evidence bag and were just thrown into the top open drawer of the desk where anyone with a key to the office could get to them. They were not secured within an evidence bag, there was no chain of custody, and no accompanying report. The evidence was supposedly found in 2016 and I found it in 2018 telling me it had been improperly handled and forgotten about for almost two years. Improperly handling evidence is a very serious offense. ( See attached drug photos Attachment D). I then learned of another incident that cause me great concern. I learned that someone was collecting residents State of Ohio ID Cards and Ohio Drivers Licenses within the Police Department office. ( See attached photo Attachment E). Why we would collect these and not properly dispose of them I do not know. During my tenure with your department I have continuously produced work for the department on my own time at home. First I submitted our Village for the LESO 1033 Federal Property Grant. This grant is for surplus federal property and will be coming back on line shortly. Additionally I have created Memorandum of Understanding between the village of Saline and Bergholz. These are agreements which allow their officers to patrol Amsterdam and ours to help them as well. The Mayors and Police Chiefs wanted to complete this last year already and it was sent to the Chief numerous times with the attached paperwork with no response. ( See Attachment F). All of these incidents and many many more caused me great concern about the actions of the Chief and the level of service towards the village and its residents. I will quickly address the termination letter sent to me by the Chief (See Attachment G) In the letter the Chief states that he has spoken with cuyahoga county investigators, and that he has been given a list of the witnesses who gave statements against him, and that he was given the statements of the witnesses in the investigation, and he has accused me of making, False or misleading statements to investigators. By accusing me of making a false statement he would have first had to know 1) that I gave a statement, and 2) what that statement was. I stand by all the answers I gave to the investigators as honest and true to the best of my knowledge. Second the Chief states that I was in contact with Brandon and that he was some kind of fugitive. This is almost correct because I went on patrol with Brandon. During the Christmas lighting ceremony one year the Chief explained to me that Brandon had been arrested by another agency. I asked what for and the Chief stated for some kind of assault. The Chief knew of this prior to allowing me to patrol with Brandon and therefore he was aware of Brandon’s status for a very long time and took no proper action. Additionally that Chief states that I failed to perform my mandatory eight hours each month, however this is not true as I work on the grants and paperwork from my house, see attachments, and have done eight hours during the month of December and January. Other then the Chief allowing Brandon to work as a police Officer after he had been arrested, not one item in the termination letter was correct, and after speaking with my attorney I was informed that it may be considered slanderous because the Chief has not one shred of evidence that I made any false or misleading statement and yet he accuses me of doing just that. As far as department equipment I have nothing that belongs to the department except a set of keys from the Police department which I will send in the mail. I left my ID card in the office on the 29th of March. The badge I purchased myself and is my own property. Mayor Pepperling in closing I would tell you that I have gone through the paperwork within your department and saw that the old Chief had the reports and personnel files well organized and seemed to be doing what is required by law. I would recommend that you replace Chief Cimperman as soon as possible and get someone who cares about the village and its residents and is going to do things properly for the village, not himself. I appeal to you to overturn my termination by Chief Cimperman and return me to active status Thank you . If you would like any more information, please feel free to contact me. I enjoyed my service to your village tremendously and hope the village continues to grow and prosper. Good Luck sir. Sincerely Richard Schilling Sergeant, Amsterdam Police Department rschilling652@yahoo.com 216-244-5686 10918 St Mark Ave. Cleveland, Ohio, 44111 ATTACHMENT A OPOTA roster as of November 2017 Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission Agency Roster Report Officer Name Officer ID Reporting Official's Signature Date of Birth Source Start Date End Date Date Status Deceased Notation Agency : Amsterdam Police Department Balli, Matthew James 76170 3/3/1970 A 11/1/2016 Part-time Belknap, Brett M 107737 9/12/1971 A 10/31/2016 Special Brettrager, Henry H. 98508 9/14/1964 A 10/13/2015 Special Cimperman, Jr., David F. 83837 6/29/1964 A 7/7/2015 Full-time Comerford, Daniel P. 127330 2/23/1978 A 9/26/2016 Special Davis, Ashlynn B. 150725 2/6/1981 A 4/7/2017 Special Dolbin, Nick Waher 184041 11/24/1968 A 10/5/2015 Full-time Falinski, Giles Laurence 73006 1/22/1950 A 2/7/2016 Special Fruth, Joshua T. 181789 4/22/1988 A 1/30/2017 Part-time Glover, Gary J 138118 8/23/1953 A 4/13/2016 Special Gorse, Matthew Louis 207947 7/13/1982 A 2/29/2016 Special Hopkins, Li 57075 5/16/1964 A 6/1/2017 Special Justus, Jack J. 84805 1/8/1961 A 7/8/2015 Part-time Justus, Jr., Estel L. 55615 9/3/1954 A 9/1/2015 Part-time McGrath, Stacy E. 148162 5/28/1972 A 1/14/2016 Special McInnes, Ian W. 199216 7/23/1983 A 12/19/2016 Special Mitchell, William H. 142287 3/6/1970 A 3/16/2017 Part-time Nicholson, Robert J. 174920 10/27/1979 A 11/6/2016 Special Schilling, Richard G. 129340 11/16/1967 A 8/16/2016 Special Valdez, Jr., Luis John 104964 10/16/1966 A 2/25/2016 Special Wheeler, Terry L. 119486 8/23/1966 A 6/28/2016 Special Page: 1 Of 1 Printed: 11/06/2017 ATTACHMENT Dshaun Thompson ID card and badge rd a l? ulit'c Department ?ne bozo? tum-d pen-3m- ddvappamed I Patrolman mm the Mmtudam Pom. Department. schema? Ohio Dshatm 1 ATTACHMENT . . k?d WON NIA - NIA BEDFORD HEIGHTS NIA NIA 0 04'19 Defendant Information 14104338 EDDIE DEFN JAIL 08l11l1985 BLACK MALE NIA NIA Charges 2911.13A 2903.13.A KIDNAPPING BREAKING AND ENTERING ASSAULT g. u, CARRYING CONCEALED WEAPONS x, Eddie Wilson case information #4 u. DISMISS PIT ATTACHMENT found in open drawer in police department ATTACHMENT ID cards and lirmses srized by Amsterdam PD ATTACHMENT Emails advising the Chief or paperwork completed and mutual aid agreements ATTACHMENT G Letter of Termination from the Village of Amsterdam Police Department Mr. Schilling,   Your services with the Amsterdam Village police department auxiliary are hereby terminated,   Effective 03/29/2018 at 12 noon.  On several instances, you knowingly provided false information to Investigators, Officers, or agents of other law enforcement services/ agencies. You conducted yourself in a manner that brings discredit to this agency by discussing internal matters with outside agencies and officers, again giving false information relating to this agency, as well as spreading critisizem of Amsterdam PD officers to officers from outside agencies.  You failed to complete your required 8 hours of time for the last several months.  You had a personal relationship with a former officer, even after he was arrested, and at times a fugitive from justice, and in fact conspired with him to continually spread miss information in an effort to make the two of you look better.  And finally, you failed to report instances that may bring Amsterdam PD into a poor light with the Chief of Police, and infact lied to the Chief relating to some of the above mentioned instances. Contact me immideatly to turn in ALL of your Amsterdam PD equipment, including your badge, ID card (s), keys, and Amsterdam PD issued uniforms and equipment. You are hereby ordered, under penalty of law to cease working in any manner that relies on your commission with the Amsterdam Police Department.  A copy of your termination letter was mailed to your last known address on this date.           David F. Cimperman, Jr.          Chief of Police          Amstredam Police