An internal investigation by Rossford officials would have recommended a police officer be fired after he used a police database to find the identity of a woman and then message her online.
Glenn Goss Jr., the son of Rossford’s former police chief, resigned last week before he could be fired. He claimed he took note of a reckless driver’s license plate number while he was off-duty and checked the information through a database system for police-related reasons once he got into work, according to the city’s internal investigation.
But investigators determined he violated 13 of the city and police department’s policies when he allegedly misused the police database system to identify the driver, Emily Hackler, and sent her a message on social media.
City officials claim the former officer violated the following policies:
- Behaving in a manner that brings discredit to self and agency.
- Abuse of law enforcement authority.
- Failure to meet guidelines on or off duty.
- Unwelcome solicitation of a personal or sexual relationship while on-duty or through the use of one’s official capacity.
- Use of information obtained as a result of employment for personal gain.
- Exceeding peace officer powers; discourteous, disrespectful, or discriminatory treatment of a member of the public; misuse of property, and conduct unbecoming that reflects unfavorably upon department members.
- Use of technology for activities unrelated to department activities.
- Accessing a law enforcement database for a non-business or department purpose.
- Use of probable cause detention to conduct personal business while on duty. Taking pictures during shift that is not related to official department business. Accessing social networking site for a nondepartment related purpose. Use of probable cause detention or otherwise engage in inappropriate conduct.
- Unauthorized access to protected information for a nonwork related purpose.
- Speech/expression that tends to compromise or damage the mission of the department. Transmitting or disseminating images of department logos, emblems, equipment that identifies the City of Rossford. Accessing website for non-authorized purpose while on duty.
Meanwhile, the Ohio State Highway Patrol continues its criminal investigation into the officer’s alleged misuse of the Law Enforcement Automated Database, which is administered by the state agency. Mr. Goss could face a charge of unauthorized use of property, a fifth-degree felony, according to a patrol incident report.
Around 6:15 p.m. June 15, Ms. Hackler, 21, posted screenshots of the conversation with the officer identifying himself with a selfie in his uniform and stating he figured out who she was through her license plate number. The post soon went viral.
Shortly before 7 p.m., Rossford Police Chief Todd Kitzler received a text message from Officer Goss, according to a summary of a personnel complaint. In the message to his chief, Officer Goss included a screenshot Ms. Hackler’s Facebook post and he stated, “Bad Move. I own it.”
The chief asked to meet with the on-duty officer.
“Yes sir I’ll be enroute. I’ll take the unpaid day off. I own it for seeing the reckless/speed [violation] and looking her up. Bad move for contact her to flirt and be funny,” Officer Goss responded.
Officer Goss told the chief that he observed the female driving recklessly while he was driving north on Crossroads Parkway earlier that day, according to the chief’s report. He took note of her license plate and looked it up when he arrived for duty that afternoon.
Through a database audit, it was confirmed that Officer Goss searched Ms. Hackler’s license plate at 1:35 p.m. June 15. His shift started at 1 p.m., according to the investigation.
Officer Goss claims he did this with a law enforcement purpose due to her reckless driving and speed.
Chief Kitzler advised the officer to return to the station to complete any unfinished paperwork. The chief then started monitoring the social media post and he received multiple phone calls from people that were concerned about the posting, according to his report.
Another woman, Taylor Yarder, also reported Officer Goss sent her a message on Aug. 10, nearly two hours after stopping her for speeding. Both Ms. Yarder and Ms. Hackler have since met with investigators.
On June 15, Officer Goss was placed on administrative leave and he resigned the next day. He was appointed to the position on June, 13, 2016.
“I proudly served this community for 4 years, and I want to thank everyone for their support. There is so much more to be said; I will deeply miss working at this amazing agency,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
Officer Goss declined to answer questions for the city’s internal investigation.
Chief Kitzler also received a third-party complaint that a woman had a similar conversation with Officer Goss, but the chief said he had not received an e-mail from the alleged victim. Additionally, a former neighbor was concerned about the officer accessing his information.
During his employment, he received several letters of recognition for his professionalism during an October jury trial; his assistance in a December, 2017 robbery pursuit, and locating drugs in a disabled vehicle on the interstate in May, 2017, according to notes in his personnel file.
In April, a woman filed a complaint against the officer that he ticketed her and towed her car for expired tags or registration during the coronavirus pandemic when Bureau of Motor Vehicles services were unavailable. The woman addressed other matters she felt were unprofessional, including having a conversation with the driver of another vehicle during the stop and leaving prior to the family’s ride arrived.
The police chief reportedly told her that her car would be released, according to the woman’s complaint.
On April 24, Sgt. Patrick Kwiatkowski Sr. conducted an informal investigation and determined the complaint to be unfounded, meaning no violations had occurred and no further action would be taken.
First Published June 23, 2020, 1:42 p.m.
