SYLVANIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Sylvania Township trustees on Tuesday agreed to let a firefighter accused of stealing pills while on duty resign and receive money for unused vacation time.
Ryan Sedlock, who served 13 years in the Sylvania Twp. Fire Department, allegedly stole pills from a patient while on duty in October 2023 and was placed on administrative leave later that month.
A police report states his wife was worried about him abusing drugs and she found a bottle of Tramadol that wasn't his. She sent photos of the bottle to another Sylvania Twp. firefighter who reported it to the administration. It was discovered in a preliminary investigation that the pills belonged to a patient Sedlock had responded to.
Sedlock was charged with two counts of theft. The charges were filed in Sylvania Municipal Court on Oct. 27.
Sylvania Twp. Trustee John Jennewine thinks this process took too long.
"The incident happened on Oct. 6, and here we are 4 months later," Jennewine said. "I think that was disappointing to a lot of residents that this drug out for so long."
The trustees spent over an hour behind closed doors in an executive session Tuesday to talk about a Memorandum of Understanding. It's a list of promises between Sylvania Twp., Ryan Sedlock and IAFF Local 2243, a firefighters union.
As part of the agreement, Sedlock will submit a resignation. He will also receive compensation for any unused vacation time and any vacation time for the rest of 2024. That amounts to about $8,510.58.
The memorandum also states that the terms of the agreement, its execution, any pending administrative matters and the charges against Sedlock shouldn't be constituted as an admission of wrongdoing on the employee's or township's part.
Trustees voted 3-1 in favor of the memorandum. Jennewine was the sole "no" vote, and he told WTOL 11 that he thinks Sedlock should have been fired instead of the resignation agreement.
"I didn't agree with the process and the advice that was given by our legal counsel," Jennewine said.
Trustee Neal Mahoney, who voted for the resolution, declined to comment.
Sylvania Twp. Fire Chief Michael Ramm said the incident is still under investigation.
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