Ohio – An Akron police captain has been demoted and pulled off the streets after a five-month internal investigation into what happened during a drug arrest outside a McDonald’s in the Ellet neighborhood.
The probe doesn’t involve drugs, but the search of a suspect’s phone and a pornographic picture involving a dog.
An internal police investigation determined that Brian Simcox found the picture while searching the phone of a woman police suspected was buying heroin. Simcox then snapped a photo of the picture with his own mobile phone and shared it both electronically and in person with fellow officers.
According to the investigation findings, Simcox also showed the picture to a fire department employee and a tow truck driver.
The city of Akron released more than 70 pages of documents Friday afternoon detailing the probe into Simcox, who has been on the force more than 20 years and was well known for his work busting methamphetamine labs across the city.
Simcox, who will now work as a lieutenant overseeing a shift in the police radio room, could not immediately be reached.
A memo included in the document said Simcox violated several departmental policies, but also at least one Ohio law when he searched the suspect’s phone without consent.
No charges have been filed.