By C1 Staff
BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — A corrections officer who was fired for allegedly associating with a known criminal is getting his job back.
Journal News reports that Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones fired CO Joshua Bowling a year ago after he let his cousin move in with him, three months after being discharged from prison. Jones claimed that officers are not allowed to associate with known criminals, which is spelled out in their contracts.
Bowling filed a grievance through his union, and an arbitrator recommended a two-week suspension instead of termination. He decided that since Bowling’s cousin wasn’t discharged from the Butler County Jail, wasn’t a “notorious criminal,” and wouldn’t “substantially impair the reputation” of the sheriff’s office, firing him wasn’t warranted. The sheriff rejected the recommendation.
Supervisors alleged that Bowling had a history of insubordination and cited 11 times where Bowling was disciplined, the worst being when he allegedly provoked a physical altercation with inmates and was suspended for three days in 2006.
Judge Keith Spaeth decided to uphold the arbitrator’s suggestion and ordered Jones to rehire Bowling.
Bowling’s attorney argued that his client deserves pre-judgment interest on the estimated $70,000 he is owed in back pay. Spaeth has not yet ruled on whether to grant the interest payment.
Though Bowling declined to comment until after the judge settled the matter of back pay, he did say that he didn’t care as much about the interest as he did about having his job back.
The department will likely appeal the ruling. Bowling would remain unemployed during the appeals process.