CARROLL TOWNSHIP - A Carroll Township officer who formerly was an Ottawa County Sheriff's Office deputy has been suspended after a sheriff's detective said he threatened to kill her.
Carroll Township Police Chief Jody Hatfield said recently hired officer John Carpenter's future with the department is unclear until the court decides whether to grant a civil protection order filed by Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Detective Amy Gloor.
"When you get a CPO filed against you, it takes away your gun," Hatfield said. "He can't do his job without a gun, so that eliminates his job."
Hatfield said the CPO was filed by Gloor about two weeks ago when Gloor spotted Carpenter following her while on the road, Hatfield said.
"He was following behind her," Hatfield said. "She felt nervous and filed the protection order."
Carpenter resigned in April before action could be taken against him by the sheriff's office, which was investigating the former deputy after he reportedly told a co-worker he wanted to kill Gloor.
"He told Joel Barton in the courthouse Amy was pissing him off and he was going to kill her and lose his job,'" Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Brad York said.
York told the News Herald on Monday that Gloor filed the complaint April 11 and Carpenter resigned April 21.
York said Carpenter and Gloor had a good working relationship but the former deputy became angered at the detective over work hours.
The threat, York said, scared Gloor enough to file a complaint with Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick, which led to an internal departmental investigation.
Hatfield said Carpenter's reinstatement is not guaranteed if the protection order is lifted, saying the department would review the matter further.
Carptenter was hired as a corrections officer by the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office in April 2006. He is a graduate of Port Clinton High School and has an associate degree in law enforcement training from Terra State Community College.
He was hired by the Carroll Township Police Department in June.
