Fired for alleged misconduct, a State College police officer could end up back on the force
A Centre County judge upheld an arbitrator’s ruling last month that reinstated a fired State College police officer dogged by allegations of misconduct.
Centre County Judge Brian Marshall’s ruling could clear a path for former borough police officer Joseph Scharf to return to a department that’s fought for more than a year to keep him off the force.
Borough attorney Julie Aquino was not able to immediately comment Wednesday. Messages were left with Sean Welby, who represented Scharf.
Marshall was tasked with deciding whether arbitrator Kathleen Jones Spilker acted outside her jurisdiction or exceeded her authority in ordering Scharf’s reinstatement. He found she did neither.
The borough fired Scharf in December 2020 after an investigation into at least three allegations of serious misconduct in the summer.
Scharf chased a vehicle at excessive speeds — upward of 87 mph in a 25 mph zone — along North Atherton Street. The driver did not realize Scharf was attempting to stop him, Marshall wrote.
Scharf also failed to report a high-speed chase until three days afterward, despite being advised by two other officers to make a timely report.
Scharf was on bicycle patrol when he improperly deployed pepper spray into the driver’s side window of a moving vehicle during what should have been a routine traffic stop for a headlights violation, Marshall wrote.
The officer who was hired in 2015 was found to have violated several department policies. The department’s Internal Affairs Board recommended a five-day suspension without pay and a written reprimand.
Chief John Gardner modified the recommendation, instead telling borough Manager Tom Fountaine that he believed termination was warranted. Fountaine signed off Scharf’s firing.
Scharf’s use of pepper spray alone was cause for termination, Gardner and Fountaine found. The latter testified during an April 2021 arbitration hearing that the use of force was “extraordinarily dangerous” and “uncalled for.”
The move was unprecedented during Gardner’s tenure. He testified during the arbitration hearing that it was the first time he ever recommended one of his officers be fired.
“No one wants to get criminals or bad guys off the street any more than I do, but there’s a right way and a proper way to do it. And oftentimes the end doesn’t always justify the means, and I think that’s the perfect illustration of this point here,” Gardner testified. “I applaud him for his aggressive nature in how he wanted to pursue his job, but sometimes you have to take a step back and look at what am I doing, what am I trying to accomplish here and am I going to make things better or am I going to make them worse by my actions.”
Spilker did not dispute the allegations against Scharf. She wrote in her November 2021 ruling that she understood why Gardner recommended termination.
Scharf, she wrote, was “pursuing cowboy justice, without proper regard for the possible consequences.”
“A reasonable person in the place of an arbitrator could justifiably recoil in disgust and horror at his admitted conduct,” Spilker wrote. “One has but to put oneself in the place of an innocent bystander who may have been injured or killed because of (Scharf’s) hijinks.”
But, she added, Gardner and Fountaine considered past incidents dating back to 2017 that were not deliberated by the police department’s board, afoul of borough regulations.
She ordered Scharf’s firing to be rescinded, subject to a last-chance agreement. His reinstatement would also include back pay, seniority and benefits. Spilker also wrote that Scharf must undergo “rigorous retraining to curb his rogue, lone wolf tendencies.”
“While the mandatory reinstatement of a police officer that has been found by both the Borough of State College and the Arbitrator herself to be a danger to public safety and a threat to the citizens of Pennsylvania is certainly repugnant to public policy, this Court is constrained to follow the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s determination that such a result is in fact the intention of the legislature,” Marshall wrote in his eight-page ruling.
Scharf is employed by the Johnstown City Police Department. He testified during an arbitration hearing that he would “love to go back” to State College.
“State College is a place, you know, near and dear to my heart. I really enjoy policing in that community. It is a great place to raise a family. It is a well paying job,” Scharf testified. “I feel like I can make a tangible difference in the community. I live in our jurisdiction. It is something that I take seriously, as far as keeping this community safe.”
The borough’s appeal of Spilker’s ruling offered a rare glimpse into a disciplinary actions taken against police officers in Pennsylvania. Information regarding discipline is not publicly available.
The State College Police Association — the union that represents the borough police department’s rank-and-file officers — was required to provide representation for Scharf.
“The State College Police Association is committed to ensuring that our Borough and Townships remain a safe, inviting, and inclusive place to live and visit. It is also our goal to ensure that internal policies, rules, and regulations are followed completely, both by employees and the employer,” union President Barrett Smith wrote in an email. “Our association will not allow either side to fail in fair and impartial treatment to all parties involved in the policing process. This means holding ourselves accountable while ensuring the consistent application of the process. We have and will continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard and regardless of personal opinion, we respect the decision of both the arbitrator and the court in this matter.“
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 9:32 AM.