File shows praise for deputy

Records portray Auglaize shooter as model lawman

By BOB BLAKE

WAPAKONETA — The deputy sheriff at the center of a state probe into the fatal shooting of a Waynesfield man last month is a highly trained, veteran officer with only one disciplinary warning, according to a review of documents in his personnel file.

Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon on Friday identified the deputy who fired the shots that killed Dennis R. Slone on Jan. 28 as Sgt. Brian Little, a seven-year veteran of the department. Little, a 1988 graduate of Memorial High School in St. Marys, came to the Sheriff’s Office in October 2003 after more than 10 years as an officer with the Cincinnati Police Department.

Solomon released the file on Tuesday after a public records request by The Lima News.

The lone record of discipline came in August when Sgt. Thomas Keckler issued a verbal warning for speeding to Little, 41. According to a write-up in Little’s file, Little was clocked by laser traveling at 99 mph on southbound Interstate 75 near mile post 120 in Allen County on Aug. 8. Little was transporting an inmate at the time.

The file included several letters of recommendation from supervisors at the Cincinnati Police Department. Little’s file also includes numerous certifications for continuing education courses.

“While assigned to road patrol, Brian was consistently at or near the top of the relief in all performance categories,” wrote Lt. Kenneth P. Finan, the property management section commander with the Cincinnati Police Deaprtment. “He displayed an eagerness to get involved and always displayed a high degree of honesty, loyalty and integrity. He was always alert, quick and responsive to service demands.”

In addition to work in the Cincinnati department’s evidence and property management section and road patrol, Little was also a member of the department’s Special Weapons and Tactics team.

“Brian impressed me as being a hard working, responsible officer,” wrote Lt. Douglas Ventre, the SWAT section commander at CPD. “As a member of our SWAT team, Brian was always willing and able to handle even the most challenging of assignments.”

Little’s file also included documentation stemming from an Oct. 14, 2005, high-speed pursuit through parts of the county near St. Marys and New Knoxville that ended with Little’s cruiser on fire.

According to reports, Little observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on county Road 33A, just east of St. Marys, and turned to pursue. The pursuit reached speeds in excess of 115 mph before the vehicles crossed Moulton-Angle Road on Moulton-New Knoxville Road. The road had been recently resurfaced at the time resulting in a bump. The cruiser hit at a high rate of speed and “bottomed out” causing a fire when a hole was punched in the oil pan, according to reports.

Little was not disciplined after that incident, according to records in the file.

Last week, Solomon said Little fired three shots into Slone, 42, as Slone was exiting his vehicle with a gun Jan. 28 at the Marathon station near the intersection of South and Main streets in St. Marys. Slone had led authorities on a slow-speed pursuit through town.

Solomon said Little was on paid administrative leave pending the conclusion of an internal review and an independent state investigation by special agents of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

Published in The Lima News: Feb. 23, 2011