Powell police explain conflicting reports on Smith
Concerns about two Powell Police Department reports for the same 2015 domestic-violence incident involving a former Ohio State University assistant football coach are the result of an officer mistakenly checking an “arrest” box on a form.
Powell police had initially denied there was any record to release but later determined that the cover sheets on an Oct. 25 incident involving Courtney and Zach Smith were public record, and the department released them on July 24.
That record had a box to note whether the defendant had been arrested. It was unchecked. The record also listed offenses of domestic violence and felony assault as reasons for the report.
But a report written the day after the 2015 incident and released to former ESPN journalist Brett McMurphy by a relative of Courtney Smith's had mistakenly indicated an arrest.
Before releasing the official report last month, Powell Police Chief Gary Vest said that a police clerk told him
about the earlier, incorrect report. He checked into the matter and, finding that Zach Smith had never been charged or arrested, unchecked the box. But the offenses also were different.
The 2015 report had listed misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing rather than felonies, according to Vest, who said that was not
unusual.
Vest said that after consulting with prosecutors, offense reports are often changed to reflect more-serious offenses. Vest said he didn't know when that occurred.
“To me, that was something I didn't believe, morally or ethically, that I could change,” he said of the offenses. “The check box was erroneous, however.”
Vest has said that neither he nor others in his department ever officially contacted Ohio State officials about the matter, and they never contacted the police.
On campus, meanwhile, more than 100 Ohio State fans gathered outside Ohio Stadium on Monday for a rally in support of Meyer, chanting the coach's name and meeting the organizer's “O-H” with a collective “I-O.”
The organizer, 49-year old super-fan “Tennessee” Jeff Hamms, drove 12 hours from South Carolina for the rally, which lasted about 15 minutes.
Hamms said the rally had nothing to do with Zach Smith or the accusations against him. Rather, Hamms said, it was about Meyer's achievements and the “injustice” that he is on paid administrative leave while under investigation.
“He's not being treated fairly,” said Lori Thompson, who drove an hour and a half from Sandusky to attend the rally. “He's a good guy who brought our team a lot of wins.”
Former Ohio State football player Ezekiel Elliott's father, Stacy Elliott, attended the rally and spoke about Meyer's “upstanding” character.
“Urban Meyer would never condone that behavior,” Elliott said. “He handled the situation the way his job required him to. It's wrong that he's not with the boys on the field right now.”