 Governor Ted Strickland |
 Director Henry Guzman |
 Colonel Richard H. Collins |
Governor: No probe of safety official
|
Governor Ted Strickland |
Director Henry Guzman |
Colonel Richard H. Collins |
George Maier, assistant public safety director, was accused of creating a hostile workplace.
Public Safety Director Henry Guzman and Col. Richard Collins, State Highway Patrol superintendent, had disagreed on whether to investigate George Maier, the assistant director.
Collins strongly urged summoning Inspector General Thomas P. Charles to examine allegations leveled against Maier, but Guzman denied the request.
After reviewing the case, Strickland agrees that the charges against Maier do not rise to a level requiring investigation, Keith Dailey, the governor's spokesman, said yesterday.
The disagreement between Guzman and Collins over the Maier case appears "rooted in a personality conflict," Dailey said.
Some troopers and officers accused Maier of threats, intimidation, favoritism and creating a hostile workplace, both as assistant director and as their former boss as a patrol captain.
Guzman declined to dig into the charges, which arose during an investigation that Maier initiated of a patrol lieutenant whom Maier once commanded. The lieutenant was demoted to trooper for misconduct.
In a midsummer exchange of memos, Collins accused Guzman of mischaracterizing his stance on investigating Maier and hampering any probe by allowing Maier to respond to the charges. Maier denied wrongdoing.
Spokesmen for Guzman and Collins said both men "respect" Strickland's decision.
Thomas Hunter, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, previously attributed the charges against Maier to a "smear campaign" to discredit top administrators. "We look forward to working together and moving forward," Hunter said yesterday.
David Sturtz, a retired patrol major and Ohio's first inspector general, from 1988 to 1994, agreed with Collins' call to examine Maier's conduct. He said the lack of investigation will "leave doubts in people's minds."
"This is not a solution. The problem is still there. People think something was wrong and until it's investigated, no one knows for sure," he said.
Inspector General Charles, a former Highway Patrol lieutenant colonel, does not require a referral to conduct an investigation. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.