Lieutenant claims he s victim of retaliation

1/18/2004

A Toledo police lieutenant who has been charged with violating departmental policy told The Blade he believes all 12 counts filed against him are in retaliation for speaking up on behalf of two female officers he thought were being harassed.

“My general reaction is it s just a smear campaign by the police department,” Lt. Frank Ramirez, 47, said. He claims that after he raised concerns about the two officers in question, some of his supervisors “started scrutinizing my actions and pursuing trivial violations of the department manual in an attempt to dismiss me.”

One charge stems from allowing an officer to go home early to be with a sick child, Lieutenant Ramirez said.

Lieutenant Ramirez said those are among several examples that speak to the “pettiness” of the allegations. “I maintain my innocence. In the end, the truth will be exposed,” he said.

He said he filed a complaint against the department on Dec. 23 with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. The complaint claims he has been subjected to personal harassment and a hostile work environment, he said.