Village of Smithville fires its second police officer in two months, citing dishonesty

SMITHVILLE – Police Officer Daniel Yarnell will pursue legal action, citing wrongful termination, after Village Council voted to fire him earlier this week.

The Tuesday, May 17 vote approved interim Police Chief Warren Caskey's recommendation to fire the school resource officer for dishonesty, effective immediately.

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Caskey told council that Yarnell was forced to resign from his previous position at the Canal Fulton Police Department based on notes from the department, however when asked before he was hired in Smithville, Yarnell said he was not forced to resign.

Four members of the six-member village council were present for the vote, enough for a quorum. Tricia Mullins, Scott Thorn, Joseph Reed and Matt Haas voted to fire Yarnell.

Larry Allen and John Heitger were not present for health-related reasons.

The decision to fire him came more than a week after Yarnell was placed on paid administrative leave on Friday, May 6.

"It's heartbreaking and so disappointing," he said after the Tuesday council meeting.

Smithville Mayor Tom Poulson declined to comment on the matter because it involved personnel-related issues.

Second police member terminated in two months

Yarnell is the second member of the Smithville Police Department to be fired in two months.

The first was Jen Barnett, former police chief and the first female chief in the village.

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Smithville Village Council voted to fire her March 15 after Poulson recommended her termination.

Poulson cited issues regarding her leadership and an evidence room incident.

From the US Air Force to Canal Fulton

Yarnell joined Smithville PD in March of 2020 before becoming a school resource officer in the local village schools.

Before Smithville, he worked at the Canal Fulton Police Department for around nine months and was in the U.S. Air Force for 12 years, he said.

As a single father, Yarnell said, a job in law enforcement can be hard to balance with private life. This was especially true in Canal Fulton where he worked the night shift.

Yarnell estimated he slept four hours each day to ensure he was there for his son.

"I asked the chief if I could switch to the day shift," Yarnell said, and he was told that was unlikely to happen.

Police Chief Douglas Swartz ran a tight crew in a small community, and Yarnell said, he was flexible.

"We worked out a schedule for me where I would come in and leave 30 minutes earlier than normal," Yarnell said.

While, he said, this helped, he still had some issues.

"Swartz mentioned tardiness, which was true," Yarnell said. "Once I was late because a tree fell and blocked a road during a snowstorm."

Another time, Yarnell said, he didn't properly mark sick time because he didn't know how the sick time system worked.

"It was an honest mistake," he said. "It was brought up to me and I asked how I can fix it."

Ultimately, Yarnell said, he left Canal Fulton to find a job with better hours.

"It was a mutual agreement," he said. "I even left the military to be with my son when they wanted me to go to South Korea."

'It seems like a witch hunt to me'

Caskey's recommendation to fire Yarnell is based on notes from Swartz.

Both Caskey and Yarnell said the notes conveyed that he resigned in lieu of termination, but Yarnell said this was not the case based on their meetings before he left Canal Fulton.

Yarnell said he contacted Swartz who said he was not forced to resign and would write an addendum to the notes.

Swartz was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

"I even took the polygraph when I was hired and passed that when asked if I was forced to resign," Yarnell said. "It seems like a witch hunt to me."

Reach Bryce by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com

On Twitter: @Bryce_Buyakie

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Smithville fires police officer for dishonesty, second in two months