Update on Daniel “Officer Roid Rage” Harless

I can’t tell if this was a cunning plan that might actually work, or if he’s just an idiot who thinks people will believe this.

Recall that Daniel Harless is the Canton, OH [now former] police officer who lost his job after video evidence of him being, well, a loose cannon. After not allowing a motorist to speak, he goes berserk when the motorist finally interrupts him to inform the officer that he has a carry permit and is armed. Officer Roid Rage then lets off a litany of expletives and threats, including:

“as soon as I felt your gun, I should have took two steps back, pulled my Glock 40 and just put 10 bullets in your ass and let you drop. And I wouldn’t have lost any sleep. Do you understand me?”

It was determined that he “violated rules” and got a paid vacation until his hearing. Just before his hearing, he claimed he had PTSD so it was postponed. His brother officers were so shocked by his behavior that they gave up their own sick time so he could be paid while waiting to be fired.

When he finally was fired, he complained that he shouldn’t be fired just because he threatened to kill a guy for kicks.

The latest on this guy is that he’s filed a series of complaints about his unfair treatment, including a worker’s comp claim and that the city owes him money for accrued vacation and sick pay. I wonder how the officers that donated their sick time to him feel about that?

Here was what really stuck out in this article. You should really read the whole thing, but check this out:

[The Arbitrator] said he believes that “in comparison with other officers, the treatment of officer Harless was discriminatory.”

You mean that there are other officers on the Canton Police force who 1)have acted this way, 2)have been reported/investigated, and 3)are still on the force? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Some other officers have been found guilty of more serious conduct in the past and they retained their jobs, said [the arbitrator], who is on the staff of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio.

“I do believe that there is a clear hierarchy to the discipline issued in Canton (by the Police Department) and that the Harless discipline was far outside the scale,” he wrote in an email.

Apparently, no. They are not kidding.