By Police1 Staff
BRIMFIELD, Ohio — The police chief who was known nation-wide for his far-reaching social media presence and public comebacks to Kanye West, among other stories, has stepped down as police chief — and the department’s Facebook page, which lauded 177,000 followers, has temporarily been disabled.
Brimfield Township Police Chief David Oliver resigned two days after he was suspended for allegations of gender discrimination by one of his officers.
Officer Crystal Casterline claimed that she was bullied by the police chief for nearly two years in an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal.
Oliver has since denied the allegations and attributed his resignation to his health and post-traumatic stress.
Trustees named Capt. Chris Adkins as interim chief. One of his first actions as interim chief was to disable the department’s highly active Facebook page, saying it became a battlefield between those supporting the ex-chief and those who condemned him. He plans to reactivate the page but warns it will be very different.
“For the chief, he had a following. He was entertaining and he engaged people,” Adkins said. “We’re not going to try and be that. But we have a really good police department. We’re not defined by one person, nor was it defined by Facebook.”