Whistleblower deputy who made jail pepper-spray video public fired from sheriff's office

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio — A Montgomery County Sheriff's Office jail sergeant responsible for making public the pepper-spraying of a restrained inmate in the county jail in 2015 was fired Thursday, the Dayton Daily News has confirmed.

Sgt. Ransley Creech’s termination follows an internal affairs investigation into how video of then Sgt. Judith Sealey’s pepper-spraying incident of inmate Amber Swink got into the hands of a local attorney.

The video spurred a lawsuit, an ongoing federal probe, a misdemeanor criminal charge against Sealey and contributed to calls for reviewed oversight of jail operations.

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On Jan. 11, The Dayton Daily News requested the results of the internal affairs investigation under Ohio public records law. Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. denied the request on Jan. 26 saying the internal investigation is now part of an open criminal investigation.

Contacted for comment, Creech said he has not broken any laws.

“I got fired for doing exactly what I was sworn to do,” Creech said. “Protect victims, report a crime and preserve evidence, just as I stated in my internal review.”

Fellow former Sheriff’s Office sergeant Eric Banks told The Dayton Daily News in December that he and Creech called the FBI and turned video of the pepper-spraying over to a local attorney because they feared the Sheriff’s Office was trying to cover up the incident.

Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer was contacted for comment. This story will be updated once that information is received.

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