Fired Miami County deputy, county settle

UPDATE @ 3:17 p.m. (Nov. 5): Tanya Sapp, attorney for Tina Waymire, confirms that an agreement has been reached between Miami County and Waymire, who was fired from the sheriff's office.

The details of the agreement were not made available.

FIRST REPORT (Aug. 27):

Tina Waymire, fired from the Miami County Sheriff’s Office in June following an investigation into alleged violations of department policies, is entitled to unemployment benefits she lost when she was fired.

That’s the decision of Sean Reid, hearing officer with the state Unemployment Compensation Review Commission in Columbus.

Reid, in his decision released this week, reversed a July 31 benefits ruling against Waymire.

“Claimant was discharged by the Miami County auditor without just cause in connection with work. … [her] application for determination of benefit fights is no longer disallowed based upon a disqualifying separation from employment. This case is remanded to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to determine claimant’s monetary entitlement and any charges to the base period employers,” Reid wrote in his decision.

Waymire had been with the sheriff’s office nearly 30 years. She filed for a year of benefits three days after her firing on June 4. Her application was denied July 13 based upon the finding that the sheriff’s office fired her for just cause in connection with work. No benefits would be paid until she could get covered employment, worked six weeks, earned wages of $1,422 or more. Her appeal was sent to the Unemployment Compensation Review Commission on July 14.

Reid detailed the history of the investigation in his decision this way:

The sheriff’s office accused Waymire of releasing information found in posts to a Facebook page called “The Miami County Reporter” in December 2014. The sheriff’s office deemed the posts derogatory and believed the information was proprietary to the office.

The sheriff’s administration has said Waymire’s firing had nothing to do with her participation in the Jan. 12 rescue of a dog from the Great Miami River in Troy. She responded on her own and was given verbal counseling for her actions during the emergency — she put the dog in her cruiser and used emergency lights and sirens in taking the dog to an animal hospital.

In January, Waymire was questioned when another post appeared on the site that cited a sheriff’s office employee who spoke anonymously and included allegations against the office and its administration. The sheriff’s office ordered Waymire not to discuss any matters relating to its internal investigation of her. The sheriff’s office accused Waymire of discussing the investigation twice — once with a police union rep and a second time with her attorney. In March, the sheriff’s office disciplined her stemming from those incidents.

Sheriff Charles Cox fired Waymire on June 4 following a citizen’s complaint in February that she cursed at the citizen’s teenage daughter during a call for service, and after the department discovered Waymire had given “The Miami County Reporter” editor the phone number of the sheriff’s administrative assistant.

The sheriff’s office admitted there was no evidence that Waymire provided any proprietary information to the editor that was posted to the Facebook page.

“While [Waymire] may have been properly subject to discipline based on the February 2015 citizen complaint,” Reid said in his decision, “the evidence does not establish that claimant’s overall actions considered independently or collectively, were so egregious or unreasonable as to warrant a denial of unemployment benefits.”

The finding on Waymire’s unemployment benefits can be appealed. The auditor’s office has until Sept. 16 to do so.

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