Deputy assigned to high school fi red

The Franklin County sheriff has fired a deputy who worked as a school resource officer after what was described as an inappropriate incident involving a girl at Westland High School.

Deputy Chris Cuccio, 32, who had been with the sheriff’s office for 11 years, was fired Friday, said Marc Gofstein, spokesman for Sheriff Dallas Baldwin. At a news briefing on Monday, Gofstein refused to say what happened with the female student, saying only that what was uncovered by the office’s investigation over

the past five weeks led to the deputy’s firing.

“There was information in various forms that led us to that decision,” Gofstein said. County prosecutors examined the case and found no criminal offense, he said.

Gofstein said later that Cuccio refused repeated

attempts by the department to get his side of the story.

South-Western schools officials called the sheriff’s office April 7 about a situation they said occurred between the deputy and a student. The deputy was pulled from the high school immediately and the office began its investigation, Gofstein said.

The district and the sheriff’s office publicly disclosed

the case on May 1, saying the deputy had been put on unpaid leave.

“It is an ongoing investigation,” Gofstein said at the time. “Out of respect to the student and the deputy, we will not say what it involves.”

Westland High School, located in Prairie Township, has an interim school resource officer until the end of the school year on June 1, said South-Western spokeswoman Sandra Nekoloff.

School resource officers are law enforcement officers who are trained to provide security in the schools that hire them by contract. They also aim to be positive role models and mentors to the students, according to the Ohio School Resource Officers Association.