By

Henry A. Arnett

Livorno and Arnett Co., LPA

1335 Dublin Road, Suite 108-B

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Telephone: 614-224-7771

The Portsmouth Civil Service Commission has overturned the termination of Portsmouth Police Chief Charles Horner and ordered Mayor Jim Kalb to reinstate Chief Horner to his position.

The Mayor had relieved Chief Horner of his duties and placed him on paid leave May 23, 2008, after the Portsmouth Police Department had launched an investigation of an acquaintance of the Mayor for making threatening remarks directed to the Chief. Then, on October 3, 2008, the Mayor fired Chief Horner, contending that Horner had unlawfully ordered a dog to conduct a drug sniff on a suspect’s vehicle, that Horner had been dishonest and insubordinate, that he had directed another officer not to file a police report, and that he had created a hostile work environment.

Chief Horner vigorously denied the charges, and, represented by the law firm of Livorno and Arnett Co., LPA, appealed his dismissal to the Portsmouth Civil Service Commission. That three-member panel heard one and one-half days of testimony, and on December 18, 2008, ruled in Chief Horner’s favor. Finding that each and every one of the allegations against the Chief was unsubstantiated, the Commission ordered Horner reinstated with full pay retroactive to his dismissal.