Complaint alleges Columbus FOP leader bullied officers, manipulated finances during tenure
The local police union's ethics committee is investigating a complaint lodged this month against the public face of the agency.
An official complaint lodged against Executive Vice President Brian Steel was presented during the union's Nov. 9 monthly meeting. Steel has been acting as president since April, when President Jeff Simpson went on leave for medical issues.
The complaint against Steel was given to The Dispatch by someone who had received a copy and was verified by a third party with knowledge of it.
The complaint makes multiple allegations against Steel, including that he improperly used lodge funds to pay for a trip to a national police union conference, went outside of the union's agreement with the city to gain a personal benefit and that he shamed lodge members for not donating to efforts to support an officer who was shot in the line of duty.
The complaint, which was filed by Columbus police officer Joel Westbrook, focuses on events that have occurred since June 2023 involving Steel.
The union represents all Franklin County law enforcement officers, including Columbus police under the rank of commander.
Steel on Monday said the union's ethics committee is looking into the complaint and he trusted the process to reveal the truth.
“Every organization, including the FOP, has internal politics and people who prefer to criticize from the bleachers rather than take the field," he said in a statement. "As a leader, I’m used to it. These allegations are provably false and every reimbursement I’ve ever sought was approved through official channels. Our books and my actions are all open for review by our members.”
Steel, a Columbus police sergeant, had been up for promotion to lieutenant but was passed over, despite his ranking on the promotional list, according to a grievance Steel filed. He alleged that Division of Police leadership had deliberately passed him over because of his role in the union and his public comments about high-profile events.
According to the complaint against him, Steel engaged in an unfair labor practice when he approached police and city leadership to address the grievance, outside of the grievance and arbitration process, to find a solution that would "benefit himself at the expense of other Lodge members."
The complaint alleges that Steel, and several others who were seemingly passed over for promotions, would receive those promotions over people on more recent lists — which are determined by testing scores.
In another allegation, Steel is accused of using the lodge's credit card to charge more than the budgeted amount for a flight, hotel and food during an August trip to the National FOP Convention, which was held in Las Vegas. Steel attended two days of the conference, which lasted a week.
The complaint alleges Steel "manipulated the situation" when he repaid the money, entertaining a motion to increase his monthly pay retroactively for serving as acting president for almost the exact amount Steel owed the union for his conference trip.
Following the trip to Las Vegas, Steel was asked to come to a roll call, the pre-shift meeting for officers, on the city's West Side, according to the complaint. Steel had reportedly made comments privately about the fatal shooting of Donovan Lewis by former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson, which occurred on Aug. 30, 2022, in that area of the city. Officers who worked in the area were upset, the complaint said, and wanted Steel to address their concerns.
The complaint alleges Steel used the opportunity to bully officers, accusing them of not supporting an officer who was seriously wounded in a July 6 shooting. The complaint said Steel told officers he had a list of who had donated money and attempted to "harass, embarrass and coerce" officers.
Following the incident at the roll call, which occurred on an unspecified date, officers from that patrol zone attended the Sept. 14 meeting of the union, located at the union's lodge on Schrock Hill Court. Rumors had circulated that a potential no-confidence vote against Steel might happen at the meeting, according to the complaint.
A sergeant who was at the meeting, Mike Dunlevy, reportedly asked for any available on- or off-duty union members to come to the meeting to support Steel. At least five officers received city-paid overtime for their meeting attendance, which was authorized by Dunlevy, according to the complaint and other corroborating documents provided to The Dispatch.
No vote involving Steel's leadership occurred at the meeting.
As acting president, Steel frequently comments publicly on high-profile incidents, including fatal shootings by officers or when officers are injured.
According to the union's bylaws, the ethics committee will review the complaint and report back to the union's executive board.
The complaint would not result in any discipline against Steel, Dunlevy or any other officer within the Division of Police unless a separate complaint was filed there. The union complaint would only result in potential union action.
The complaint also comes at a time of change within the local FOP. Simpson has indicated he will be retiring in early 2024 and will not be returning to his role as president. Negotiations are also ongoing between the city and the union on a new collective bargaining agreement.
bbruner@dispatch.com
@bethany_bruner
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County FOP accused bullying officers, manipulating finances
