A Cincinnati Police officer will resign and plead guilty to five counts of dereliction of duty after an extended investigation into the department's personal crimes unit.
Special investigators reviewed cases handled by Christopher Schroder dating back to 2007. The Hamilton County Prosecutor's office says out of 865 cases, 47 had "significant deficiencies," including delays in rape kit submissions, failures to submit DNA swabs, and cases with little to no investigation.
Under a plea agreement, Schroder will resign and lose officer certification in Ohio, and will plead guilty to the five misdemeanors. He is expected in court Wednesday, Jan. 18, and his resignation should take effect after that appearance. The department says Schroder’s police powers have been suspended, and he is on a desk assignment.
“What this audit revealed was disheartening, troubling, and quite frankly frustrating for our entire department,” says Chief Theresa Theetge in a statement Friday afternoon,
Theetge says Schroder’s “blatant disregard” has led to a “transformation of processes and procedures,” including quarterly audits, a rape kit tracking process, and more training for investigators.
Some of the cases have been referred back to police for further investigation.
