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Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp said he disagrees with the arbitrator’s decision to reinstate deputy Thomas Hillabrand.
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Reinstated Lucas County deputy must be paid

THE BLADE

Reinstated Lucas County deputy must be paid

19-year veteran is owed wages, expected overtime

Lucas County officials will pay nearly $32,700 to the deputy fired for his Facebook posts after an arbitrator reinstated him.

Deputy Thomas Hillabrand, 57, returned last month to his position at the county jail. The 19-year veteran was fired in August following messages about local Taco Bell employees and Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

Although the union does not condone these posts, it maintains Mr. Hillabrand should have kept his job, said Pat Mangold, president of UAW Local 3056. Mr. Hillabrand understands the responsibility of his position, he said.

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“He knows he made a mistake. He said it to me personally,” Mr. Mangold said.

The deputy’s payment of $32,662 reflects missed wages during this period plus expected overtime. Because of his seniority, negotiations determined he missed 52 hours of overtime per two-week pay period, Mr. Mangold said.

The office contributed about $5,900 for Mr. Hillabrand to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. The arbitrator billed the union and county about $3,300 each, he said.

Mr. Mangold said the sheriff’s office also paid about $20,000 in overtime costs to cover the deputy’s shifts.

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Capt. Donald Atkinson, who oversees the sheriff’s internal affairs bureau, described the overtime estimate as a calculation from the union. He declined further comment.

Union officials offered a suspension of 105 days, community service, and cultural sensitivity classes. The intention was to change behavior and prevent any similar acts by employees, Mr. Mangold said.

“As a point of fact, if they would have accepted the 105-day suspension, [Mr.] Hillabrand would probably just in the last couple weeks been coming back to work, without any back pay,” Mr. Mangold said.

Mr. Hillabrand on July 23 recounted a trip while in uniform to the Taco Bell drive-thru, 2234 W. Alexis Rd. Employees there shouted a vulgar message about police and “Black lives matter,” the deputy wrote.

An acquaintance replied this situation would anger her, and she was surprised he did not reach into the window. He posted: “Couldn’t reach em, in the pre-camera days you know what would a happened!”

Separately, a July 14 Facebook message included an image of a driver called “the traffic buster” and said it would clear from the highways “BLM,” or Black Lives Matter, protesters. His personal Facebook account disclosed his employment at the sheriff’s office.

An arbitrator imposed a 20-day suspension, credited the deputy with time served, and ordered payment of lost wages.

Sheriff John Tharp reiterated Monday that he believed firing was the right action to take, and he disagrees with the arbitrator’s decision.

Contact Ryan Dunn at: rdunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6095, or on Twitter @rdunnblade.

First Published February 14, 2017, 5:00 a.m.

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Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp said he disagrees with the arbitrator’s decision to reinstate deputy Thomas Hillabrand.  (THE BLADE)  Buy Image
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