ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - Allegations made against a former Shawnee school resource officer are now being investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations.
According to Shawnee Township Police Chief Robert Kohli, the department received a complaint against Det. Jeremy Shellenbarger concerning when he was a school resource officer during the 2021-22 school year. Those allegations say that he was using social media to hold inappropriate communications.
Shellenbarger was placed on administrative leave with pay as the Ohio BCI began their criminal investigation. Chief Kohli added that BCI was called to keep the investigation transparent and fair. There was also an internal investigation at the same time and Shellenbarger submitted his resignation as those investigations were wrapping up.
The Ohio BCI is still looking into the allegations.
Here is the full press release from Chief Kohli:
"Our Department received a complaint in December of 2022 against Det. Shellenbarger regarding allegations when he was serving as a School Resource Officer in the 2021- 2022 school year. Upon receipt of the allegations of inappropriate communications utilizing social media outlets, I immediately placed Det. Shellenbarger on Administrative leave with pay and requested the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) to conduct the criminal investigation. I utilized BCI in this investigation to ensure to our Community and our Officers that this case would be conducted by an outside entity, in a transparent manner, and fair to everyone involved. I would like to thank BCI for their assistance in this matter, as these investigations take a lot of time and resources. I conducted an internal investigation into this matter to ensure the necessary standards of conduct expected of our Officers were adhered to. Det. Shellenbarger submitted his resignation during the final portions of the internal investigation."
