DELTA, Ohio — Village of Delta police chief Robert Austin has resigned after documents showing he was married to two women at the same time were turned over to village leadership by 11 Investigates.
The documents show that Austin and Marina Ederra obtained a marriage license in Clark County, Nevada on Nov. 13, 2014. The clerk’s office confirmed the couple was married a day later.
Lucas County records reveal that Austin and his first wife, Maggie, were granted a dissolution on May 12, 2015.
Those documents were provided to village administrator Andy Glenn on Friday afternoon. He confronted Austin with the information and he did not deny the information and resigned. Monday was his final day on the job, though he has three weeks of vacation that he will be using.
11 Investigates tried two numbers for Austin and were not able to reach him.
The Village of Delta provided the following statement:
“We had confidence in the job Robert Austin did for us until, just this week, we learned these facts. We expect everyone who works for Delta to follow the law and that expectation is even higher for a police chief. He has submitted his resignation and we’ve reported what we know to the state auditor and the county prosecutor. We will fully cooperate with all investigations into his actions. Until we identify a new person for the job, Sgt. Drew Walker will serve as acting police chief."
Austin was a focal point of a February multi-part 11 Investigates series on police officers who travel from department to department, despite disciplinary issues in their past.
Austin was hired as chief on Aug. 29. What officials did not know was that an internal Sylvania Township report recommended Austin be fired for a number of departmental violations. That recommendation was concealed in a separation agreement that did not allow Austin or the township to discuss the investigation.
The following statement was contained in the internal investigation:
“Due to all the facts listed in this report that documents a pattern of neglect of duty, unsatisfactory work performance, insubordination and dishonesty (untruthfulness), regrettably, I can make no other recommendation other than termination from the police department.”
One of the issues he was cited for was his review of a June 2022 incident in which a woman delivering groceries was confronted by township officers.
Caitlin Taylor was pulling into a Parliament Square driveway when she noticed she had the wrong address and began backing up. She did not realize that Sylvania Township officers had been watching her and parked their car and began shouting commands at the woman.
Officer John Tanner can be heard on body cam footage from the incident shouting several commands. A confused Taylor at first sits in the car, puts her hands up, then gets out of the car and resists as the officers try to cuff her hands behind her back.
In an interview with 11 Investigates, Taylor said she didn’t understand why the officers were shouting at her or what she had done.
“I was completely lost and confused. He never told me he was an officer. I was thinking, ‘Who is this person?’” Taylor said last year.
At one point, Taylor can be seen being thrown to the ground.
Austin initially reviewed the body cam and found no issue with the arrest. He later recommended de-escalation training for Tanner.
But Taylor sued the township over the incident and the sides reached a settlement for $225,000 recently and the case was dismissed Monday.
Austin resigned from Sylvania Township on May 2, 2023.
A request for comment was left with the Lucas County prosecutor’s office and also Sylvania Township officials.
Editor's note: The main video attached to this story has been removed and reuploaded to prevent the disclosure of personal information.