A public safety officer was arrested for drunken driving and failure to control his vehicle Sept. 28 in Springfield, Ohio and is still employed at the university as of press time.
According to an arrest report from the Springfield Police Department (SPD), officers were dispatched to 1209 Selma Rd., Springfield Ohio at 2:27 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 on a report of a vehicle crash, where Jamie L. Casto, an officer with the university’s police department, allegedly hit another vehicle.
Justin Lowe, the officer present at the scene, wrote in the arrest report that Casto “had a very strong odor of alcohol” and exhibited “slurred speech and difficulty answer[ing] basic questions.”
According to the report, Casto refused all tests at the scene and was placed under arrest for Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence (OVI) and for Failure to Control his vehicle. Casto also refused blood-alcohol content testing at the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, and was therefore placed under an administrative license suspension.
At his arraignment Sept. 30, Casto pled not guilty to the charges and requested an appeal of the license suspension. He is scheduled for pre-trial conference on the matter Nov. 1.
Casto’s lawyer, attorney Nathan J. Stuckey, stated via phone call that his license is not currently suspended, which was confirmed by online records from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Public Safety Chief Frank Fernandez said Casto was suspended from his position in the force when the university learned about the arrest, and he was allowed back to work pending the outcome of his Nov. 1 hearing.
“The university will continue to monitor the case,” Fernandez said. “Additional action may be taken depending on the outcome of the case or if additional facts become known to the university.”
Casto has been with the university as an officer since 2016 according to a past Chimes story. He was promoted to the position of sergeant on Jan. 21 of this year according to a tweet by Fernandez.
According to a representative from the university’s Human Resources office, Casto was still employed at the university as of Wednesday afternoon.
According to Clark County Municipal Court’s online records, Casto is scheduled for pre-trial on Nov. 1.
Editor’s note: the print version of this article stated that Casto was promoted to lieutenant in January, but that is incorrect. He was promoted to sergeant. We regret this error.
