By James Massara
CCN News Director
GALION — Specifics of the events leading to the arrest of a Crawford County corrections officer July 9 in the 300 block of Kroft Street in Galion have been obtained by Crawford County Now as well as the deputy’s history with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.
According to reports by the Galion Police Department, obtained by Crawford County Now through a public records request, Crawford County Corrections Officer Jason Tupps called 911 at 6:59 p.m. and at 7:01 said a woman rammed him and tried to run away.
Six seconds later, Tupps said he had the 25-year-old Mansfield woman at gunpoint. Within one minute of the phone call beginning, Tupps told the woman not to move or he would shoot her.
At 7:02 p.m., Tupps then reported she hit her brakes, and he hit the back of her car and then she rammed him.
Galion officers arrived at the scene at 7:02 and Crawford County Sheriff Office deputies arrived at 7:23 p.m.
Tupps subsequently refused to participate in field sobriety tests and then was arrested at 7:38 p.m. and taken to the Crawford County Justice Center. Reports said Tupps “continued to yell, curse and make comments about the officers on the scene,” during his arrest.
During the arrest, a 40-caliber Glock handgun, 45 rounds of ammunition and a metal vile, which later was found to contain a trace of a white substance. The substance was submitted for testing.
According to records from the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Tupps submitted a letter to Crawford County Sheriff Scott Kent on Oct. 17, 2017, saying Tupps would be carrying a model-42 Glock .380 while off duty, a different firearm than was used by Tupps on July 9.
Tupps was charged with OVI refusal, having weapons under disability and aggravated menacing.
Reports in Tupps personnel file indicated previous occurrences of aggressiveness by Tupps while in uniform, as well as a separate incident with law enforcement. A written reprimand was given to Tupps regarding an incident on Jan. 30, 2013 where Tupps admittedly grew upset and slammed a telephone receiver and damaged it past the point of its operational use.
In another incident, Tupps was charged with a minor-misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, under a Galion City Ordinance, as a result of an incident that occurred in Galion on Dec. 11, 2017. Tupps reported his service of the charge to Kent on Jan. 27, 2018.
Other incidents also appear in Tupps’ personnel file involving the suspected use of alcohol affecting his professional life.
On Nov. 16, 2015, multiple deputies on duty reported Tupps entered the Crawford County Justice Center in civilian clothing and admitted to having “a few beers and pizza” at a local restaurant.
Multiple deputies reported being able to smell a slight odor of alcohol on his breath and he spoke at a higher volume than normal. All reports said Tupps left without incident.
A separate incident, resulting in a written reprimand for misuse of sick time on Nov. 29, 2017, also led to Tupps being evaluated for his ability to perform his duties.
According to Tupps’ file, he called off sick Nov. 29 and cited the flu as the cause. According to the reprimand by Crawford County Sheriff’s Office Commander Kent Rachel, Tupps said he had too many drinks at a friend’s house and had to be driven home.
As a result of the incident, Tupps and the administration of the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office agreed for Tupps to be subject to a psychological evaluation with a clinical psychologist to “determine his psychological ability to perform the essential functions and job duties of his position as a corrections officer,” due in part over concerns he had been using a great deal of sick time.
During the evaluation, Tupps reported alcohol use as “minimal,” and said he considered himself a “social drinker, not very often.” He said he “may ‘occasionally’ drink with his fiancé, they may have ‘a couple of beers’ following a ‘rough day’ that they may have had at work.”
In reference to the Nov. 29 incident, Tupps said the alcohol from a few beers “hit him like a ton of bricks.” He said he had received medical attention during that time and believed it may have been a result of his lack of knowledge of how the two substances would react.
In the psychologist’s summery, he said he believed the occurrences on Nov. 29 appeared to be medically related, but medical records may provide more information.
The psychologist deemed Tupps psychologically fit to perform his duties as a corrections officer at that time.
While observing Tupps’ file, it was discovered Tupps had been nominated for deputy of the month and was the subject of multiple letters of appreciation and positive-in-nature letters of reference.
No failing job evaluations were found in Tupps’ file.
The original report by Crawford County Now of the incident in Galion may be found here, and the audio of Tupps’ 911 call may be found here.