Former New Philadelphia Police officer Dave Cimperman is being highlighted in a USA Today news story and a segment on "CBS This Morning" about officers with convictions rising through the ranks. ("Tarnished Brass," CBS This Morning)

New Philadelphia, Ohio (WJER) - USA Today and CBS are both highlighting a local example as part of their reporting on police officers with past convictions rising through the ranks. 

The USA Today article focuses on how former New Philadelphia Police officer Dave Cimperman was fired twice and brought back both times, after pleading no contest to a felony and for perjury. Police Chief Mike Goodwin appeared on the segment that “CBS This Morning” aired nationally, describing Cimperman’s time with the department prior to his 2012 resignation as “chaos.” 

“He was here for 15 years before he resigned,” Goodwin told  CBS News' Jeff Pegues. “The city fired him twice. An arbitrator gave him his job back twice. He was being disciplined or wrote up by supervisors on a regular basis.” 

Cimperman then served as police chief in Amsterdam, Ohio, for three years starting in 2015 before resigning for more alleged misconduct. Goodwin says Amsterdam never even contacted New Philadelphia to ask about Cimperman’s past. 

“What we’re finding out is across the state that police departments are not doing a thorough background check,” he told Pegues. “I think they’re in a hurry to get a body or boots on the ground.”

Cimperman is now a part-time officer with the tiny Bloomingdale police department in northeast Ohio. Cimperman told CBS that the USA Today article is not accurate and places him in a false light.

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