DESHLER, Ohio — A Fayette police sergeant is under investigation and facing charges after a large fight broke out at his Deshler home earlier this month.
Sgt. Jordan Wehrly, 24, has been charged with two counts of assault – first-degree misdemeanors – after an alleged victim claimed Wehrly grabbed his face and shoved him into a car. He also told a Henry County sheriff’s deputy that Wehrly roughly grabbed his girlfriend’s arm.
Wehrly was a subject in a series of 11 Investigates reports in February. The series focused on police officers jumping from department to department after being fired or forced to resign. In the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy portal that allows for a search of an officer’s work history, Wehrly is listed as either being terminated or resigning under investigation from four departments – Oak Harbor, Spencerville, Put-in-Bay and St. Rita’s Medical Center. In Ada, he was disciplined – though not fired - for repeatedly flashing his badge inside a bar.
He was hired by Fayette on Dec. 21 after resigning under investigation in Oak Harbor in August. An internal document indicated that the department believed he was in a relationship with a 17-year-old girl he had met at a traffic crash.
Chief Eric Parker signed the report, concluding that “it is my recommendation to terminate Officer Jordan Wehrly from the department as soon as possible.”
In the Oct. 20 incident, Henry County deputies responded after a series of 911 calls indicated multiple people were fighting in the street in front of Wehrly’s Deshler home. One caller told dispatch that the fight originated from a party at Wehrly’s home and that 200 people were on the property. Cell phone video showed about a dozen people fighting or trying to break up the fight in the street.
Deputies interviewed multiple witnesses and were told that three people had guns at the party. One man claimed that Wehrly grabbed his face and threw him into a car, then roughly grabbed his girlfriend by the arm. The report indicates that red marks could clearly be seen on the woman.
Deputy Logan Clevidence wrote in his report that he interviewed Wehrly and “that he appeared to be highly intoxicated and a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was detected on his breath. Jordan stated that he knows this looks chaotic, and I told him it does, and that this is the second time this year that a fight has occurred at one of his parties and a gun was allegedly brandished.”
One witness said a woman involved in the fight suffered a seizure. Clevidence wrote that Wehrly was visibly upset when EMS arrived to tend to the woman, who he claimed was faking the seizure.
11 Investigates reached Wehrly by phone on Thursday afternoon. He was very emotional, saying he was having a difficult day because he had to give up his department canine.
In a July article in The Village Reporter, Wehrly is pictured posing with Kya, a Belgian Malinois who was donated to the department. Wehrly is listed as being the dog’s handler.
Thursday morning, 11 Investigates was provided a Fayette police news release that indicated Wehrly had been placed on administrative leave, pending the results of an internal investigation and also the outcome of his court case. A Napoleon Municipal Court docket indicated that Wehrly pleaded not guilty on Thursday morning.
In the phone call, Wehrly said he could not discuss the case but that he did not know the alleged victims. He also disputed reports of 200 people being at his home, saying there were 30 to 40 people.