Yellow Springs residents intervened in an incident on South High Street yesterday, Oct. 25, in which a man allegedly attacked a woman with a baseball bat and a screwdriver.

Police received a 911 call around 12:50 p.m. that several people were fighting in the 300 block of South High Street, according to a press release from Yellow Springs police. There were 4-5 people in the street when local officers arrived. At that time, a man ran toward a woman and tackled her; officers intervened to pull the man off the woman.

Initial police investigations revealed that the same man had attacked another woman with a baseball bat and screwdriver prior to the 911 call. Witnesses were able to intercede.

Both women were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. The man was transported to Greene County Jail with criminal charges forthcoming.

Barry Lawson, 35, of Yellow Springs has been charged with felony felonious assault following an incident that took place on Wednesday, Oct. 25, in front of his South High Street home. During the incident he attacked an out-of-town woman with a baseball bat and a screwdriver. He is now in the Greene County Jail on a $100,000 bond. The woman has been released from Greene Memorial Hospital and has returned home.

The woman, who is from Kalamazoo, Mich., came to Yellow Springs for a five-day yoga retreat at the Mills Park Hotel with well-known yoga teacher Angela Farmer, which is ending today, Friday, Oct. 28, according to a Mills Park employee. According to the statement of facts on record at Xenia Municipal Court, she and a friend were renting a home in the 300 block of South High Street, and had observed Lawson, who lived across the street with his parents, watching them when they came and went from the house. They did not know him. They also had discovered three flat tires on their car parked in front of the house, which were caused by puncture wounds.

According to the document, at about 1 p.m. Wednesday the woman was walking toward the rental during a lunch break when Lawson, who was across the street holding a bat, charged her. While she ran away, he allegedly hit her in the face, knocking out a front tooth. At this point, two people passing by in a car stopped, as well as a tow truck driver, and came to her aid. A neighbor called the police..

According to the statement of fact, the first officer to arrive was Sgt. Naomi Watson, followed by Sgt. Josh Knapp, Chief Brian Carlson and Officer Dennis Nipper. Lawson had been subdued by the passersby, and was sitting on the street. However, he stood up and allegedly again charged the woman with a screwdriver. Sgt. Watson deployed her Taser, after which Lawson complied and was arrested without incident. The woman was transported by the Miami Township Fire Rescue Squad to the Greene Memorial Hospital.

Lawson, who was transported to the county jail, is a familiar presence in downtown Yellow Springs, who frequently walks from his High Street home to downtown, hanging out in front of the Emporium. According to an Emporium employee who asked not to be identified, he rarely came inside and rarely spoke to anyone, other than asking for a cigarette.

The case will be presented to a grand jury on Wednesday, Nov. 1, according to a press statement from Greene County Prosecutor Stephen Haller.

On Friday, Chief Carlson commended the passersby for coming to the aid of the woman, whom he believes could have been seriously hurt had there been no intervention.

An older local woman received a phone call today, Nov. 3, from an unidentified source stating that “you will be taken under custody by the local cops” because there were “four serious allegations” against her. She was advised to call a phone number in order to not be picked up by police.

Calls like this are always illegitimate, according to Police Chief Brian Carlson today. “They just want your credit card number.”

While Carlson has not heard from other villagers who received this call, which was especially threatening compared to other scam calls, such calls come and go in waves, he said. Scam calls from people who claim to be from the IRS were especially common during last year’s tax season, and could again rev up as the 2018 tax season gets closer.

If people receive the calls, they are advised to contact the local police at 767-7206. If they are frightened by the call, an officer will visit the home to assure the person that the call is fake, Carlson said.

By Audrey Hackett

Michael M. Gentile, 20, pleaded not guilty Friday to rape, drug and vandalism offenses. The Yellow Springs resident was arraigned Nov. 3 at the Greene County Court of Common Pleas.

His bond, originally set as a $50,000 blanket bond, was increased at the arraignment to $200,000 by the judge assigned to the case, Judge Michael Buckwalter. A Nov. 9 bond hearing is scheduled to address the increase, according to Gentile’s lawyer, Dayton attorney Jon Paul Rion.

Gentile was indicted Oct. 25 by a Greene County grand jury on multiple rape and drug charges involving a juvenile, as well as unrelated vandalism charges. The rape and drug charges stem from a May 22 incident in which he allegedly provided or administered a controlled substance to a juvenile at least two years his junior.

Gentile posted $50,000 bond Oct. 27 and was released from Greene County Jail to his Yellow Springs residence later that day, subject to a variety of bond conditions.

The first of two pre-trial hearings took place Nov. 7, with another scheduled for Nov. 30. The rape and drug charges are the focus of discussions between the defense and prosecution at this point, according to defense attorney Rion. Depending on the outcome of those discussions, the case could go to jury trial thereafter.

Gentile was indicted last month on four counts of rape, a first-degree felony, and one count each of sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, corrupting another with drugs and aggravated possession of drugs, according to the indictment released by the Greene County prosecutor’s office two weeks ago. He also faces a separate indictment for two counts of vandalism of property “owned, leased or controlled” by the Village of Yellow Springs. All charges are felonies.

Contact: ahackett@ysnews.com

Villager Barry Lawson remains in the Greene County Jail following an Oct. 25 incident in which he allegedly attacked a female unknown to him with a screwdriver and baseball bat, causing injuries. The incident took place in front of his High Street home, involving an out-of-town woman in town for a yoga retreat, a neighbor and several passers-by who restrained him.

This week a grand jury, which met Nov. 1,  served Lawson with an indictment that includes two counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, for his attack on the out-of-town woman, according to Greene County Assistant Prosecutor Suzanne Schmidt this week. He was also indicted for misdemeanor assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, for attacking a bystander with the screwdriver. 

Bond of $100,000 has been set, and the next step is an arraignment this Friday, Nov. 10, in the courtroom of Judge Stephen Wolaver, Schmidt said. At that point the court will again address the question of bond, and if Lawson has not yet retained an attorney, a public defender will be assigned. Schmidt said she is not aware of an attorney representing Lawson at this time.

Over a six-year period from 2010 through 2016, police issued citations to African-American villagers at a significantly higher rate than to white villagers, according to a statistical study of local police data sponsored by the Justice System Task Force, or JSTF, and presented at Village Council’s Dec. 18 meeting.

“This analysis offers empirical support to anecdotal evidence from the black community that they feel singled out” by police, said JSTF consultant Beth Crandall to Council. Crandall had volunteered statistical analysis support to the group.

Specifically, the data showed that during that six-year period, about 13 percent of black villagers, or 65 out of 497 villagers, received at least one citation from local police. In comparison, about 9 percent of white villagers, or 285 out of 3,027, received a citation. Proportionally, blacks made up about 12 percent of the village population and whites about 80 percent, according to U.S. 2010 Census numbers.

During that time, African American men in the 25–34 and 49–55 age groups received substantially more written warnings from police than did white villagers, the data showed.

“The black community has known this for years,” Councilman Gerry Simms, who is black, said at the meeting. Going forward, he said, “How can we take some of that doubt and apprehension away from the black community so that we can feel like citizens, and not always be looking over our shoulder?”

JSTF data analysis results can be accessed online at yso.com, click on Council’s Dec. 18 packet.

The study was conducted by Mike Bottomley of the Wright State University Statistical Consulting Center, using data from local police provided by JSTF member John Hempfling. As well as data connected to race, the study also looked at how gender and age intersected with villagers receiving warnings and citations. It also found that young people, and especially young men, receive more citations and warnings than do other villagers.

The data study, which began last summer, was one part of the work of the JSTF, a citizen group appointed by Council, which for the past year has focused on improving policing in the village. The group has made recommendations to Council on a variety of police-related issues, including  revising guidelines for Taser use and the need for implicit bias training for officers. Council and Police Chief Brian Carlson have supported the recommendations, and some have already been implemented.

Studying available data about police behavior is one more way to address issues of how police relate to the community, according to JSTF member Pat Dewees, who with John Hempfling and Crandall focused on the data analysis.

“As a committee, we had a consensus that this was an important thing to do,” she said to Council, stating that looking closely at data “is central to creating transparency.”

At the meeting, JSTF members were clear that because of the exploratory nature of the analysis, conclusions could not be drawn about what caused the data results. 

“This sort of analysis doesn’t say why something happened,” Crandall said to Council. “It’s up to you as Council members and us as a community to take hold of these findings and decide what to do with them.”

Council members considered how best to use the data, with Karen Wintrow suggesting that the time frame of the current analysis, from 2010 to 2016, makes it less useful than one using current data, since many changes have been made already in local policing since new Police Chief Brian Carlson took the job earlier this year.

“Should we set 2017 as a new timeframe and more forward from that, rather than deal with the old data?” she asked.

Task Force member Al Schlueter also questioned the data, stating, “I’m not pleased with this analysis.” 

Specifically, he questioned results that could have been skewed by a few officers who appeared to be more affected by race than were others. In his own analysis of individual officers, according to Schlueter, he found a wide range of officer behavior, from an officer whose citations and warnings were issued to black villagers about 35 percent of the time, to one who issued warnings and citations to no black villagers.

The police department has undergone substantial turnover in recent years.

But while current data may be more relevant to current policing, the JSTF study data is still valuable, according to Dewees.

“This was consistent over three police chiefs,” she said. “It’s a concern.”

Council members asked that the JSTF study group look more closely at the data analysis to determine whether some aspects need further study, but also agreed that current data would be more useful.

“What’s most relevant is the period from when Chief Carlson started his job, then moving forward,” Council Vice President Brian Housh said.

And the data is also useful in providing the foundation for a community discussion on racial bias in local policing, according to Council member Judith Hempfling.

“It’s important to have that conversation,” she said.

  In other Council Dec. 18 business:

• Council unanimously approved the second and final reading of a resolution that reconfigures the Utility Dispute Resolution Board, giving the board more community representation and less Village staff representation.

• Council approved fourth quarter supplemental appropriations in the amount of  $1,442,613. The amount includes $408,812 for the general fund to cover the housing needs assessment and transfer of funds into the capital improvement fund; and $561,076 into the enterprise funds.

• Council approved adding the position of community outreach specialist to the Village organizational chart. The 30-hour weekly position, as recommended by the JSTF, aims to perform outreach to at-risk persons in the village. Funding for the position will come out of the police department budget. According to Council, Chief Carlson may now publicize the position.

• Council approved an emergency reading for a new fee schedule for transient guest lodging permits. Villagers who host Airbnb-like transient guest lodging quarters are asked to register with the Village and pay a $25 permit fee A new transient lodging guest tax takes effect Jan. 1, 2018, and the first tax payment is due in July 2018.

• Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of a connector bike path between Yellow Springs and Clifton. 

• Council unanimously adopted a Complete Streets policy for Yellow Springs. The policy aims to keep all forms of transportation in front of Village leaders when making decisions about streets and sidewalks, according to Housh.

• Council unanimously approved a 3 percent pay increase for Village Manager Patti Bates for 2018.

• Council unanimously approved a 2.5 percent  pay increase for Clerk of Council Judy Kintner for 2018. 

• Council members and Village staff thanked Wintrow and Simms, who are both stepping down from Council, for their service to the community. Council also unanimously passed resolutions honoring the service of the two departing Council members, who thanked their colleagues on Council along with staff. In their remarks, both Wintrow and Simms emphasized the need for more housing in Yellow Springs.

Council’s next regular meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m. in Council chambers.

The Yellow Springs Police Department has issued a warning about a spate of reported scam “IRS” phone calls asking for immediate payment and threatening legal action if it is not remitted.

The office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has asked that people who receive such a phone call report the number, and the date and time of the call by calling 800-282-0515 and selecting option “4”. 

When to be suspicious

According to the IRS website, “fraudulent callers often tell potential victims that tax is owed and must be paid immediately, or that they are entitled to a large tax refund. If they are unsuccessful the first time around, scammers will sometimes call back and attempt a different strategy.

The site further states that “to avoid becoming a victim of these scams, it’s important for taxpayers to know the following:

· If you owe taxes, the IRS will first contact you by mail, not by telephone.
· The IRS never asks for credit card, debit card, or prepaid card information over the phone.
· The IRS never insists that you must pay your taxes using a specific payment method.
· The IRS never demands immediate payment over the phone and does not take enforcement action directly after a phone conversation.

Though the IRS stresses the calls should not be answered or returned, Attorney General DeWine asks that the phone number be noted and reported by calling the attorney general’s office at 800-282-0515.

For more information about IRS fraud, visit the IRS website at https://www.irs.com/articles/irs-warning-about-phone-scams , or the Ohio Attorney General’s fraud website at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/About-AG/Contact/Report-A-Scam .

Judges in the upcoming murder trial of the alleged killers of Yellow Springs roofer Skip Brown and his friend and neighbor Sherri Mendenhall must first decide whether critical evidence should be allowed.

Specifically, the defense attorney for Dustin Merrick, 26, one of the two brothers charged with the killings, recently argued that the gun allegedly used for the crime should not be allowed as evidence because Merrick’s Constitutional rights had been violated when investigators seized the weapon. The gun, a 9 mm handgun, had been seized by authorities from Merrick’s home on Jan. 20 after Merrick voluntarily showed police the weapon, which, police say, matched the ammunition found at the crime scene and had several bullets missing.

And the attorney for the second brother, Bret Merrick, 24, asserted that his client’s Constitutional rights had been violated when he was not properly informed of his rights by police before being interviewed by investigators. 

The attorneys made the arguments in briefs filed for a July 13 pre-trial hearing in the case in Judge Michael Buckwalter’s Greene County Court of Common Pleas courtroom in Xenia, according to a July 25 article in the Dayton Daily News.

The decision regarding whether to allow evidence about the gun is expected to be made by Judge  Buckwalter no earlier than September, according to Defense Attorney Gregory Meyers in an interview this week.

Meyers, of the Ohio Public Defender office in Columbus, declined to comment on the case. 

The Merrick brothers are both accused of the killings of Brown and Mendenhall, who were found shot to death Jan. 15 at their East Enon Road apartments. The brothers are the stepsons of Skip Brown’s brother, Dave Brown, and Dustin Merrick was a former employee of Skip Brown who described himself as Brown’s “right-hand man.” Both men’s charges include death penalty specifications, which means they could be eligible for the death penalty if found guilty.

The trial is currently scheduled for Nov. 6 in the Greene County Court of Common Pleas in Xenia. The final pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.

According to the motion filed by Attorney Meyers, on Jan. 20 investigators visited Dustin Merrick in his home, where they say it became clear that he owned several weapons. While he showed police the handgun, he did not allow them to take it with them, but they did so anyway, citing “exigent cirumstances.” Exigent circumstances means an emergency situation in which a reasonable person believes that an action must be taken to either avoid harm or to avoid the destruction of evidence, according to the Cornell University School of Law’s Legal Information Institute at http://www.law.cornell.edu.

However, according to Meyer’s motion filed in the court recently, “law enforcement officers cannot utter ‘exigent circumstances’ to magically make their Constitutional duties vanish. The state bears a heavy burden to prove with a specific, articulable facts that the circumstances in this case constitutionally justified a warrantless seizure.”

   The attorney for Bret Merrick, Dennis Lieberman of Dayton, has also filed a motion that his client’s rights had been violated. Specifically, he said Bret Merrick had made potentially incriminating statements during a six-hour interview on Jan. 24, without having been advised of his Constitutional rights.

“Any incriminating statements of defendants were involuntary and made without properly being advised of his constitutional rights,” the defense attorney’s motion states. 

Lieberman did not respond to a call seeking comment this week. The decision regarding Bret Merrick will be made by Judge Stephen Wolaver.

The great-grandson of well-known photographer Axel Bahnsen, Skip Brown, who spent part of his childhood in Yellow Springs, was a well-known Yellow Springs resident and businessman who had created a gallery at his East Enon residence to showcase his great-grandfather’s work. Mendenhall had recently moved to the Yellow Springs area, after a longtime friendship with Brown.

Yellow Springs residents intervened in an incident on South High Street yesterday, Oct. 25, in which a man allegedly attacked a woman with a baseball bat and a screwdriver.

Police received a 911 call around 12:50 p.m. that several people were fighting in the 300 block of South High Street, according to a press release from Yellow Springs police. There were 4-5 people in the street when local officers arrived. At that time, a man ran toward a woman and tackled her; officers intervened to pull the man off the woman.

Initial police investigations revealed that the same man had attacked another woman with a baseball bat and screwdriver prior to the 911 call. Witnesses were able to intercede.

Both women were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. The man was transported to Greene County Jail with criminal charges forthcoming.

Barry Lawson, 35, of Yellow Springs has been charged with felony felonious assault following an incident that took place on Wednesday, Oct. 25, in front of his South High Street home. During the incident he attacked an out-of-town woman with a baseball bat and a screwdriver. He is now in the Greene County Jail on a $100,000 bond. The woman has been released from Greene Memorial Hospital and has returned home.

The woman, who is from Kalamazoo, Mich., came to Yellow Springs for a five-day yoga retreat at the Mills Park Hotel with well-known yoga teacher Angela Farmer, which is ending today, Friday, Oct. 28, according to a Mills Park employee. According to the statement of facts on record at Xenia Municipal Court, she and a friend were renting a home in the 300 block of South High Street, and had observed Lawson, who lived across the street with his parents, watching them when they came and went from the house. They did not know him. They also had discovered three flat tires on their car parked in front of the house, which were caused by puncture wounds.

According to the document, at about 1 p.m. Wednesday the woman was walking toward the rental during a lunch break when Lawson, who was across the street holding a bat, charged her. While she ran away, he allegedly hit her in the face, knocking out a front tooth. At this point, two people passing by in a car stopped, as well as a tow truck driver, and came to her aid. A neighbor called the police..

According to the statement of fact, the first officer to arrive was Sgt. Naomi Watson, followed by Sgt. Josh Knapp, Chief Brian Carlson and Officer Dennis Nipper. Lawson had been subdued by the passersby, and was sitting on the street. However, he stood up and allegedly again charged the woman with a screwdriver. While Sgt. Watson readied her Taser, she did not use it, and a passerby pulled Lawson away from the woman before he was subdued. He was then arrested and taken to the Greene County Jail. The woman was transported by the Miami Township Fire Rescue Squad to the Greene Memorial Hospital.

Lawson is a familiar presence in downtown Yellow Springs, who frequently walks from his High Street home to downtown, hanging out in front of the Emporium. According to an Emporium employee who asked not to be identified, he rarely came inside and rarely spoke to anyone, other than asking for a cigarette.

The case will be presented to a grand jury on Wednesday, Nov. 1, according to a press statement from Greene County Prosecutor Stephen Haller.

On Friday, Chief Carlson commended the passersby for coming to the aid of the woman, whom he believes could have been seriously hurt had there been no intervention.

An older local woman received a phone call today, Nov. 3, from an unidentified source stating that “you will be taken under custody by the local cops” because there were “four serious allegations” against her. She was advised to call a phone number in order to not be picked up by police.

Calls like this are always illegitimate, according to Police Chief Brian Carlson today. “They just want your credit card number.”

While Carlson has not heard from other villagers who received this call, which was especially threatening compared to other scam calls, such calls come and go in waves, he said. Scam calls from people who claim to be from the IRS were especially common during last year’s tax season, and could again rev up as the 2018 tax season gets closer.

If people receive the calls, they are advised to contact the local police at 767-7206. If they are frightened by the call, an officer will visit the home to assure the person that the call is fake, Carlson said.

By Audrey Hackett

Michael M. Gentile, 20, pleaded not guilty Friday to rape, drug and vandalism offenses. The Yellow Springs resident was arraigned Nov. 3 at the Greene County Court of Common Pleas.

His bond, originally set as a $50,000 blanket bond, was increased at the arraignment to $200,000 by the judge assigned to the case, Judge Michael Buckwalter. A Nov. 9 bond hearing is scheduled to address the increase, according to Gentile’s lawyer, Dayton attorney Jon Paul Rion.

Gentile was indicted Oct. 25 by a Greene County grand jury on multiple rape and drug charges involving a juvenile, as well as unrelated vandalism charges. The rape and drug charges stem from a May 22 incident in which he allegedly provided or administered a controlled substance to a juvenile at least two years his junior.

Gentile posted $50,000 bond Oct. 27 and was released from Greene County Jail to his Yellow Springs residence later that day, subject to a variety of bond conditions.

The first of two pre-trial hearings took place Nov. 7, with another scheduled for Nov. 30. The rape and drug charges are the focus of discussions between the defense and prosecution at this point, according to defense attorney Rion. Depending on the outcome of those discussions, the case could go to jury trial thereafter.

Gentile was indicted last month on four counts of rape, a first-degree felony, and one count each of sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, corrupting another with drugs and aggravated possession of drugs, according to the indictment released by the Greene County prosecutor’s office two weeks ago. He also faces a separate indictment for two counts of vandalism of property “owned, leased or controlled” by the Village of Yellow Springs. All charges are felonies.

Contact: ahackett@ysnews.com

Villager Barry Lawson remains in the Greene County Jail following an Oct. 25 incident in which he allegedly attacked a female unknown to him with a screwdriver and baseball bat, causing injuries. The incident took place in front of his High Street home, involving an out-of-town woman in town for a yoga retreat, a neighbor and several passers-by who restrained him.

This week a grand jury, which met Nov. 1,  served Lawson with an indictment that includes two counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, for his attack on the out-of-town woman, according to Greene County Assistant Prosecutor Suzanne Schmidt this week. He was also indicted for misdemeanor assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, for attacking a bystander with the screwdriver. 

Bond of $100,000 has been set, and the next step is an arraignment this Friday, Nov. 10, in the courtroom of Judge Stephen Wolaver, Schmidt said. At that point the court will again address the question of bond, and if Lawson has not yet retained an attorney, a public defender will be assigned. Schmidt said she is not aware of an attorney representing Lawson at this time.

Over a six-year period from 2010 through 2016, police issued citations to African-American villagers at a significantly higher rate than to white villagers, according to a statistical study of local police data sponsored by the Justice System Task Force, or JSTF, and presented at Village Council’s Dec. 18 meeting.

“This analysis offers empirical support to anecdotal evidence from the black community that they feel singled out” by police, said JSTF consultant Beth Crandall to Council. Crandall had volunteered statistical analysis support to the group.

Specifically, the data showed that during that six-year period, about 13 percent of black villagers, or 65 out of 497 villagers, received at least one citation from local police. In comparison, about 9 percent of white villagers, or 285 out of 3,027, received a citation. Proportionally, blacks made up about 12 percent of the village population and whites about 80 percent, according to U.S. 2010 Census numbers.

During that time, African American men in the 25–34 and 49–55 age groups received substantially more written warnings from police than did white villagers, the data showed.

“The black community has known this for years,” Councilman Gerry Simms, who is black, said at the meeting. Going forward, he said, “How can we take some of that doubt and apprehension away from the black community so that we can feel like citizens, and not always be looking over our shoulder?”

JSTF data analysis results can be accessed online at yso.com, click on Council’s Dec. 18 packet.

The study was conducted by Mike Bottomley of the Wright State University Statistical Consulting Center, using data from local police provided by JSTF member John Hempfling. As well as data connected to race, the study also looked at how gender and age intersected with villagers receiving warnings and citations. It also found that young people, and especially young men, receive more citations and warnings than do other villagers.

The data study, which began last summer, was one part of the work of the JSTF, a citizen group appointed by Council, which for the past year has focused on improving policing in the village. The group has made recommendations to Council on a variety of police-related issues, including  revising guidelines for Taser use and the need for implicit bias training for officers. Council and Police Chief Brian Carlson have supported the recommendations, and some have already been implemented.

Studying available data about police behavior is one more way to address issues of how police relate to the community, according to JSTF member Pat Dewees, who with John Hempfling and Crandall focused on the data analysis.

“As a committee, we had a consensus that this was an important thing to do,” she said to Council, stating that looking closely at data “is central to creating transparency.”

At the meeting, JSTF members were clear that because of the exploratory nature of the analysis, conclusions could not be drawn about what caused the data results. 

“This sort of analysis doesn’t say why something happened,” Crandall said to Council. “It’s up to you as Council members and us as a community to take hold of these findings and decide what to do with them.”

Council members considered how best to use the data, with Karen Wintrow suggesting that the time frame of the current analysis, from 2010 to 2016, makes it less useful than one using current data, since many changes have been made already in local policing since new Police Chief Brian Carlson took the job earlier this year.

“Should we set 2017 as a new timeframe and more forward from that, rather than deal with the old data?” she asked.

Task Force member Al Schlueter also questioned the data, stating, “I’m not pleased with this analysis.” 

Specifically, he questioned results that could have been skewed by a few officers who appeared to be more affected by race than were others. In his own analysis of individual officers, according to Schlueter, he found a wide range of officer behavior, from an officer whose citations and warnings were issued to black villagers about 35 percent of the time, to one who issued warnings and citations to no black villagers.

The police department has undergone substantial turnover in recent years.

But while current data may be more relevant to current policing, the JSTF study data is still valuable, according to Dewees.

“This was consistent over three police chiefs,” she said. “It’s a concern.”

Council members asked that the JSTF study group look more closely at the data analysis to determine whether some aspects need further study, but also agreed that current data would be more useful.

“What’s most relevant is the period from when Chief Carlson started his job, then moving forward,” Council Vice President Brian Housh said.

And the data is also useful in providing the foundation for a community discussion on racial bias in local policing, according to Council member Judith Hempfling.

“It’s important to have that conversation,” she said.

  In other Council Dec. 18 business:

• Council unanimously approved the second and final reading of a resolution that reconfigures the Utility Dispute Resolution Board, giving the board more community representation and less Village staff representation.

• Council approved fourth quarter supplemental appropriations in the amount of  $1,442,613. The amount includes $408,812 for the general fund to cover the housing needs assessment and transfer of funds into the capital improvement fund; and $561,076 into the enterprise funds.

• Council approved adding the position of community outreach specialist to the Village organizational chart. The 30-hour weekly position, as recommended by the JSTF, aims to perform outreach to at-risk persons in the village. Funding for the position will come out of the police department budget. According to Council, Chief Carlson may now publicize the position.

• Council approved an emergency reading for a new fee schedule for transient guest lodging permits. Villagers who host Airbnb-like transient guest lodging quarters are asked to register with the Village and pay a $25 permit fee A new transient lodging guest tax takes effect Jan. 1, 2018, and the first tax payment is due in July 2018.

• Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of a connector bike path between Yellow Springs and Clifton. 

• Council unanimously adopted a Complete Streets policy for Yellow Springs. The policy aims to keep all forms of transportation in front of Village leaders when making decisions about streets and sidewalks, according to Housh.

• Council unanimously approved a 3 percent pay increase for Village Manager Patti Bates for 2018.

• Council unanimously approved a 2.5 percent  pay increase for Clerk of Council Judy Kintner for 2018. 

• Council members and Village staff thanked Wintrow and Simms, who are both stepping down from Council, for their service to the community. Council also unanimously passed resolutions honoring the service of the two departing Council members, who thanked their colleagues on Council along with staff. In their remarks, both Wintrow and Simms emphasized the need for more housing in Yellow Springs.

Council’s next regular meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m. in Council chambers.

Update, 3:20 p.m. — Thursday, April 19. Chief Deputy Brown of the Greene County Sheriff’s reported that officers were dispatched to the office and residence of Dr. Scott Hosket, just north of Yellow Springs, this morning at 11:19 a.m. regarding a shooting. A deceased person was found inside the house, and the shooting appeared to be self-inflicted. The department is not releasing a name at this time and the investigation is ongoing, he said.

At 2:15 p.m. Thursday, April 19, three Greene County Sheriff’s Department cars were parked in front of, and in the driveway of the veterinary office and home of Dr. Scott Hosket at 4450 U.S. 68 North just north of Yellow Springs. Crime scene tape was stretched across the driveway.

According to a sheriff’s employee on the scene, an investigation is ongoing, although he would not clarify what prompted the investigation.

According to Yellow Springs police, the local police department is not involved since the location is outside village limits. A representative from the sheriff’s office responded to a call from the Yellow Springs News with the statement that an investigation is ongoing at the Hosket residence, but that no more information is being released at this time.

Officer Mark Charles of the Yellow Springs Police Department reportedly found an injured baby doe just inside of Glen Helen late on Tuesday night, according to Police Chief Brian Carlson.

Officer Charles left the scene briefly to see if the animal’s mother would return. However, when the doe was still there the next morning, unable to move and with its mother nowhere to be found, Officer Charles called local veterinarian, Dr. Suzanne Ellis.

Dr. Ellis collected the doe on Wednesday morning. The deer is expected to recover from its injuries, thanks to the work of Dr. Ellis and Officer Charles, according to Chief Carlson. 

YSPD Corporal David Meister

Yellow Springs Police Department Corporal Dave Meister is set for a pre-disciplinary hearing next Friday, June 29, at John Bryan Center, according to Meister’s attorney, David Duwell of Dayton, in an interview today.

The disciplinary hearing follows a departmental internal investigation into Meister’s performance following two March traffic stops, according to a police department memo obtained by a Yellow Springs News public records request. The incidents took place March 1 and March 14.

 Meister is still on the job and performing his duties, according to Police Chief Brian Carlson in a June 21 interview.

“He’s on active duty,” Carlson said. “It’s business as usual.”

According to a May 24 memo from Carlson to Meister, “it was concluded that both vehicle drivers were repeat offenders, under suspension and possibly intoxicated.” The memo further states that the discretion used by Corporal Meister during those stops deviated from police policy for possible Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated, or OVI, violations and “could have resulted in harm to the general public and or the offender.”

Meister was not available for comment.

According to the memo, Carlson is recommending that Meister be demoted from corporal to officer status, be given a three-day suspension without pay, have a performance improvement plan with a last-chance agreement, and go through a 12-month probationary period.

“We do not accept the recommendations,” Attorney Duwell said.

On Thursday, Duwell said he could not comment on the specifics of the case as it is ongoing. However, he stated that Meister’s position is that the discipline standards being applied to him have not been applied consistently in the department. Duwell and Village Solicitor Chris Conard have been in discussions regarding the case, and the pre-disciplinary hearing is taking place because they did not reach agreement on the recommended disciplinary actions. At the hearing, which is presided over by hearing officer chosen by the Village, Meister will have an opportunity to respond verbally or in writing to the charges.

Should Meister disagree with the decision issued by the hearing officer, he will have the choice whether to appeal the decision in court, according to Duwell.

Duwell held out hope that resolution could be reached.

“I’m still hopeful that everything can be worked out in the best interest of both David and of the community,” he said.

A fulltime officer since 2010, Meister is a popular officer in the community, and was one of three finalists a year ago for the police chief job. In January 2018, he was one of two officers promoted to the new position of corporal, which involves supervisory responsibilities. He and his wife, Zo Van Eaton Meister, and four children, live in Yellow Springs. Supporters are planning a rally in his behalf at noon on Saturday, June 23, at the Bryan Center.

On the afternoon of Saturday, June 30, two armed robberies took place in the Glen Helen Nature Preserve, according to the Yellow Springs Police Department today.

At around 4 p.m. on June 30 two people hiking in the Glen Helen Nature Preserve were approached by five teenage males and robbed at gunpoint, according to Chief Brian Carlson. They were near the large rock outcropping on the south side of Yellow Springs Creek. A third victim hiking nearby in the Glen was approached and robbed at gunpoint close to the green gate along the bike path and behind the fire department. No injuries were reported.

YSPD is currently working leads and “would appreciate anyone with information that may help to come forward,” according to Carlson.

The News will provide more information as it becomes available.