An arbitrator has ruled that two State Highway Patrol troopers who were fired for taking part in a KKK-type costume prank must be reinstated to their jobs.
Craig Franklin and Eric Wlodarsky will return to their jobs at the Sandusky post within 30 days, patrol spokesman Sgt. Tim Karwatske said Wednesday.
The arbitrator ruled Tuesday that the May 2 firing violated the contract the state holds with the Ohio State Troopers Association union, which fought the dismissals.
Franklin and Wlodarsky are to be reinstated with back pay and benefits, and the state cannot appeal the ruling.
Herschel Sigall, attorney for the troopers union, called the incident “stupid, but not vicious.” He criticized Gov. Ted Strickland for what he called an improper firing of the men.
“In response to a public political outcry, they decided to breach the contract,” he said of the state.
Strickland had asked that the men be fired after a patrol investigation found that – on the day before Martin Luther King Day in January – Franklin put on a white cone, mask and cloth, and Wlodarsky took a photo with his cell phone and sent it to a colleague.
Strickland’s spokesman said Wednesday that the governor is disappointed by the ruling, but the administration will comply with it.
Franklin and Wlodarsky could not be reached for comment. There was no listing for the men in the Sandusky-area telephone directory, and the patrol would not release their contact information. A message seeking additional information was left for Sigall.
