Former Scioto County Sheriff Marty Donini allowed an ex-employee to keep driving a department vehicle and she ended up wrecking it. Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis condemned that decision, calling it “reckless.” So who’s going to pay for the damage? Davis said if he has his way, it won’t be the taxpayers. “We’re not paying it. Someone’s gonna have to pay the bill. I’m not going to sign off on it. There’s just no way. This is reckless and uncalled for.”
The vehicle in question was a Tahoe driven by former office manager Karen Coleman. Back in October, SCDN broke the story that Sheriff Donini granted a $10 an hour pay raise to Coleman, bringing her salary to $38.95 an hour. At the time, Commissioner Cathy Coleman said, “The recent increases for two particular employees are so extreme that it’s being looked into to see if it is indeed an abuse of power.” The Scioto County Sheriff’s Office announced Karen Coleman’s retirement on their Facebook page in December, congratulating her on 22 years of service to the department. Donini himself retired at the end of this year after 24 years in office.
However, Commissioner Davis said paperwork filed by the agency showed that Coleman was laid off. “We’re not exactly sure what the situation is.”
Drove Vehicle For 9 Days
However Ms. Coleman parted ways with the SCSO, she was allowed to continue driving a department vehicle for at least 9 days after leaving the job. Davis said, “The car should have been returned on her last day of work. It was not. It was a considerable amount of time after that date.”
The wreck reportedly happened in the parking lot of the SCSO while Ms. Coleman was in the process of returning the vehicle to her former employer. According to Davis, “The estimate on that is over $5000 in damage. I do not support our insurance covering that and I will do everything I can to make sure that the county is not held liable.”
Davis said when county officials learned about the accident, they immediately took action. “Our loss control person went over upon hearing about it and immediately got pictures, and took reports on what happened. And was roundly, rudely basically told to pound sand by the sheriff at the time. I would just say this is not indicative of professionalism in any way, shape, or form. Again, our former sheriff put the county in a bad liability situation.”
Car Controversy
The Scioto County Commissioners have previously called out former Sheriff Donini for his handling of 79 out-of-service SCSO vehicles. Investigators found the vehicles stacked up in a field once owned by a deceased special deputy instead of being sold at auction or to a licensed scrap yard.
Last spring, late Commissioner Mike Crabtree expressed fears about liability should someone be injured on the property. “We need to get those vehicles back on county property because of liability.”
That matter was referred to the Ohio State Auditor for investigation.
Commissioner Davis said the current matter is also under investigation. “This is in the hands of our prosecutor and our auditor. All we can do is let it play out.”
New Scioto County Sheriff. David Thoroughman, started work on Monday.
