Attorney says may send to supreme court

A former Ironton police sergeant fired for falsifying a police report will not get her job back, an Ohio Court of Appeals has ruled.

A panel of judges from the Fourth Appellate District ruled Monday against Beth Rist and for the City of Ironton and its police department.

Rist, now a city councilwoman, had filed a lawsuit this summer alleging discrimination and wrongful termination, but the court ruled that her termination was legal.

Rist pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for falsifying the ticket and was ordered to serve two years probation. After Rist filed a grievance protesting her termination, an arbitrator determined that she had been terminated without cause and ordered that she be reinstated to her position. Following an appeal of the arbitrator’s decision, Rist’s termination was reinstated.

“Ohio has a dominant, well-defined public policy against the reinstatement of an officer who falsifies a police report,” the appeals ruling states in part. “And in this case, it is undisputed that Rist committed such an act. Rist violated the law and comported herself in a manner that could not bring anything but disrepute upon the department.

“Contrary to Rist’s assertions, the fact that she did not gain anything from her dishonesty in this case does not make her conduct any less egregious.

“Given Rist’s willingness to lie and break the law for an apparent stranger and without profit, how can the public expect her to react if presented with an opportunity to use her position for financial gain or to benefit friends or relatives?

“Rist’s continued employment as a sergeant with the IPD can only serve to erode public trust and confidence in the department.

“And because of her vulnerability to impeachment, the department would face a serious problem if it had to rely upon Rist’s testimony in legal proceedings.”

Rist said she was disappointed with the court’s decision.

“But I’m not surprised,” she said. “This should tell union members who have paid dues that their contracts are not worth the paper it’s written on if (the city doesn’t) go by the arbitrator’s ruling.”

Mayor Rich Blankenship said he expected this ruling.

“I think justice has been served,” he said. “I did not expect any other ruling to come from the court of appeals. It’s time for us to move on.”

Rist’s attorney, Warren “Butch” Morford, said Rist is considering filing a discretionary appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.

In the lawsuit filed June 1, Rist sued the City of Ironton and the police department, claiming that she was terminated because of her gender and in retaliation for her documented opposition to what she alleges was discriminatory treatment.

The lawsuit alleged that her termination and the city’s failure to reinstate Rist were motivated by a desire to discriminate against her for protesting a hostile work environment.

In 2001, Rist, who was hired in 1996 as the department’s first female officer, successfully sued the city in a suit that alleged sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.