COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus Division of Police officer who was fired, given his job back through arbitration, then placed on paid administrative leave due to another investigation, has now been reinstated.
Randall Mayhew was accused of having sex with three different prostitutes while on the job in 2015.
Mayhew pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty and was fired in August 2018. An arbitrator overruled that decision in November 2019 and Mayhew got his job back.
On the same day he was set to return, the Public Safety Director's office placed Mayhew on paid administrative leave because of another investigation.
The investigation pertained to a known prostitute who alleged she had sex with Mayhew twice in 2015 while he was on-duty.
While Columbus Police Internal Affairs sustained the allegations, Mayhew was ultimately given his job back.
According to the internal affairs report exclusively obtained by 10TV, there were issues with a polygraph and no witnesses to the alleged acts.
“If the evidence is there, the evidence is there. We believe in accountability. We also believe in the accountability of the people who do these investigations to follow the contract and to have evidence against people, and not just hearsay,” Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 9 President Keith Ferrell.
Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said in a statement he will transfer Mayhew to a different area of Columbus, out of the west side neighborhoods where he "engaged in his previous misconduct."
In a statement, Chief Quinlan wrote:
"I understand there are people who hoped for a different outcome to this case. I can't sit here as Chief and say I'm content with it either. What I can tell you is this investigation was carried out within the rules of Division policy and the Collective Bargaining Agreement. As leaders of this Division, we apply the same due process standards, whether investigating an officer or a member of the public. We follow the evidence we have. We don't bend the rules or cut corners to get an outcome we want. This incident is another example of the need for change. In all cases we want to be able to hold officers accountable if critical misconduct occurs."
Mayhew will have to spend the next few months training and getting his certificates up to date.
As a part of the investigation, internal affairs found Mayhew did not accurately report where he was during the allegations. Mayhew had to forfeit 48 hours of leave.