The Huber Heights police officer arrested Monday on a domestic violence charge faced a similar charge two decades ago, the Dayton Daily News’ review of his personnel file found.
Matthew Blair was arrested on a domestic violence charge in 1995 while employed as a Madison Twp. police officer, according to written statements he made during a background check. A Huber Heights detective noted in Blair’s 2001 pre-employment check that the incident — expunged by a Kettering Municipal Court judge in 1997 — and his struggles to pay bills on time were concerning.
Blair, 43, was arrested Monday by Tipp City Police after allegedly throwing a dog food bowl at his wife during an argument about a past-due bill. Blair pleaded not guilty to the charge Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance. He is on paid administrative leave pending the criminal investigation and an internal investigation by the Huber Heights Police Department.
As a Huber Heights officer, Blair frequently earned “fully competent” performance reviews since joining the department in March 2001.
“Dependable, reliable, and solid officer,” wrote one superior. In another case: “Officer Blair knows the job and does it well.”
In 1995 and at the advice of his attorney, Blair accepted a deal wherein he pleaded no contest to the charge of attempted domestic violence in Kettering Municipal Court, Blair recalled during his 2001 background check.
Following an incident where he discovered a girlfriend “in a compromising situation with an unknown male subject,” Blair asked her to vacate the residence, he wrote before his employment. In subsequent days, he wrote, the girlfriend reported domestic abuse to Kettering detectives and received three supporting statements and the city prosecutor filed a warrant for his arrest.
Blair said he was placed on administrative leave in Madison Twp., “to which no disciplinary action resulted, to my knowledge.”
The background check notes the alleged victim in Monday’s incident, who was not involved in the 1995 incident, told detectives in 2001 the pair got along “very well, that they have not had any fighting or domestic problems.”
Detectives in 2001 also noted a “pattern of late payments on bills,” but noted “this is probably not a major issue.”
His personnel file also showed that, in 2015, Blair was “commended for his decisiveness in forcing entry on a dwelling to intervene in a domestic situation.” He kicked a door open, superiors wrote, and confronted and Tased the subject.
“Because of Blair’s actions the female was taken out of a potentially violent situation,” wrote Lt. Matt Dulaney.
Blair typically worked the midnight shift. His superiors often discussed his potential to move up in the department, although he remained an officer at the time of his arrest Monday. In 2014, he did not achieve his goal of becoming a K-9 officer handler.
He was investigated in 2012 for an incident involving “the handling of a traffic accident on the highway as well as dealing with the individuals at the scene.” His superiors did not find any general order violations. The same year, he received a written reprimand for a message he sent to the provider of the department’s computer-aided dispatch units.
In 2010, he received a written reprimand for going on an officer’s Facebook profile and “playfully mess with him” weeks after signing the city’s internet policy.
Blair could not be reached Thursday afternoon.
