DAYTON DAILY NEWS Copyright (c) 1997, Dayton Newspapers Inc.Published: Wednesday, April 16, 1997

MONTGOMERY COUNTY
DEPUTY FIRED AMID RASH OF INCIDENTS

*2 officiers were suspended and 2 more resigned as disciplinary actionsreached a 9-year high under Sheriff Gary Haines

By Janice Morse Dayton Daily News
   A sheriff's deputy who wrecked his cruisers and engaged in unauthorizedhigh-speed chases was fired Tuesday - amid Gary Haines' largest number ofdisciplined officers in his nine years as Montgomery County sheriff.

Sheriff Haines

   Deputy Jerry F. Wonders' dismissal came after last week's suspensions oftwo deputies in connection with lewd tape-recorded comments about a femaledeputy. Also, two probationary officers resigned after they were accused ofviolations including an improper traffic stop and a pursuit that ended in acrash.
   "We're not perfect, and I have never professed that we are," Haines said."When you have over 400 employees, problems will come up. I just hope thisshows the public: When we mess up, we don't cover it up."
   The officers who resigned last week were Transportation Officer JonOsterman, accused of driving an unmarked vehicle at speeds exceeding 80 mph,and Deputy Ron Clark, who chased a vehicle without authorization and, when thevehicle crashed, ran after a suspect without stopping to aid a person injuredin the wreck.
   Suspended for three days last week were Capt. David Vore and Deputy DarylK. Wilson, after Haines learned that Vore "failed to take timely action"against Wilson.
   Wilson, helping with an Oct. 20, 1995, surveillance, made comments about afemale co-worker's anatomy. Wilson apparently did not realize a video camera'saudio-recording device had been activated.
   Vore learned of Wilson's comments shortly thereafter, Haines said. But asof January, when the videotape resurfaced during trial preparation in the caseinvolving the surveillance, Vore had taken no action against Wilson.
   Both Vore and Wilson have said they regretted the situation, and both mustattend sexual harassment sensitivity training, Haines said.
   The woman who was the subject of Wilson's comments was allowed to listen toand obtain a copy of the tape. Haines, rather than the woman, filed thecomplaint against Vore and Wilson.
   Meanwhile, Haines said Wonders is the first employee he has had to fire inat least a year.
   Wonders, 34, apparently performed well during his six years as a deputy inLos Angeles County, Calif. Then he moved to Ohio and served nine months on theEnglewood police force.
   Soon after joining Haines' office in January 1992, Wonders started to pileup departmental violations.
   Wonders' personnel file lists 16 incidents for which he was counseled,reprimanded or suspended. Among the more serious infractions:
   * While on duty at 3 a.m. on Christmas 1995, he went to the door of aHarrison Twp. woman, presented her with a candy cane and tried to kiss heragainst her wishes, the woman told officials.
   * At the site of a hatchet attack in July 1995, Wonders didn't rope off theblood-spattered crime scene. Instead, he passed out witness-statement forms.
   * Wonders was in five accidents - three in the first three months of thisyear - that caused more than $14,000 damage to sheriff's cruisers.
   Despite his lengthy disciplinary history during the past five years,Wonders' suspensions totaled only seven days.
   "In retrospect, he might have been treated too leniently," Haines said.
   Last July, Wonders' supervisor wrote a memo that warned, "Deputy Wonders ison a self-destructive course (and) he may eventually get himself or someoneelse hurt." Seven months later, Wonders was in his most serious accident.
   Wonders was transporting a female prisoner to the county jail Feb. 16 whenanother motorist made a U-turn in front of him. Wonders was found not to be atfault, but a report says he contributed to the accident by driving 51 mph in a35-mph zone. Also, he was not wearing a seat belt - and he failed to place aseat belt on the prisoner he was transporting. Both Wonders and the womanrequired hospital treatment for their injuries.
   Wonders' most recent accident was March 14. He was sitting in his cruiserin the parking lot of Forest Park Plaza completing some paperwork when heheard a report of a theft in progress. Wonders was not dispatched to the call,but "took it upon himself to respond to the call," a report says. Whilefumbling with his paperwork and getting his cruiser in gear, Wonder ran hiscruiser into the concrete base of a light pole, causing $3,000 damage to thecar and rendering it inoperable.
   Many incidents in Wonders' personnel file involved tardiness. His lawyer,Terry Posey, said Wonders' responsibilities as a single parent of three smallchildren often caused him to be late for work. According to a sheriff'sdocument, Posey also argued that disciplinary matters ought to be handledsingly rather than cumulatively.
   "We have made every reasonable attempt to modify Deputy Wonders' behavior,"Haines said.
   The union representing sheriff's employees, the Fraternal Order of PoliceLodge 104, disagreed.
   "(The) administration failed to consider fair progressive discipline"before terminating Wonders, FOP President David A. Woods said in a grievancefiled Monday. Woods wants an arbitrator to consider reinstating Wonders.
LENGTH: 101 linesILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Gary HainesCATEG: CRIME AND JUSTICESUBJ: SHERIFF'S DEPUTIESNA: GARY HAINES JERRY F WONDERS JON OSTERMAN RON CLARK DAVID VORE DARYL K. WILSONGEOG: AT: ENHANCER: ref9