Columbus officer fired after 'excessive' sex acts on duty at Kroger, chief says

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Columbus officer has lost his job after engaging in sexual acts multiple times while on duty at a local grocery store, according to the division's chief.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant spoke with NBC4 on Friday, where she disclosed she terminated Officer Robert Spann for actions while on special duty at an unspecified Kroger in the area. A document dated for Tuesday detailed Bryant made the decision to fire him for violating the division's rules of conduct with "consensual sexual activity with a store employee."

Bryant had been notified by the Columbus Inspector General's Office about a complaint filed against Spann in October.

"He was caught on camera doing some sexual acts and it was an excessive amount of times," Bryant said. "I want to believe at least nine times that was caught on camera, and when that was brought to the inspector general's attention regarding an investigation, they in turn contacted us."

Bryant said that she and the inspector general's office deliberated on whether or not there would be a criminal investigation against Spann, but the store played a role in the decision as well.

"Once it was determined that it was not going to be criminal because Kroger chose not to prosecute, it was then investigated by the inspector general," Bryant said. "The recommendation was made that there be discipline regarding what he did. It was brought to our attention. It came here and ultimately we made the decision that he should be fired."

Spann was one of two officers fired within a week. In a separate case, Bryant and the city's director of public safety, Kate Pishotti, decided to terminate Officer Donovan Bever after a videotaped arrest where he shoved a teen's face into a concrete sidewalk and held him by his dreadlocks.

Pishotti also released a statement regarding Spann's termination.

“Whether an officer is on duty being paid by the taxpayers of Columbus or a private special duty entity, they represent this division and are expected to conduct themselves accordingly," Pishotti wrote. "Officer Spann’s conduct violated his oath and his duty to serve, and brought dishonor to the division of police. His inappropriate conduct while in a uniformed capacity neglected his responsibilities. The kind of behavior demonstrated here is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Bryant said that Spann and Bever's actions do not represent her team as a whole.

"When you have 2,000-plus employees, there's going to be a couple of people that may do things that are not best for the agency or that may exceed even to criminal conduct," Bryant said. "But the majority of our officers are out here doing some phenomenal work, have great relationships with our community and I really want people to know that we are focused on making sure that we support our officers, that we encourage them, that we get them the best training and that we continue to build those bridges in our community."