The deputy chief of the Miami Twp. Police Department has been placed on paid administrative leave, after two months of investigation surrounding the decontamination of a 17-year-old girl who had been pepper-sprayed, Chief Chris Krug said Friday.

An internal affairs hearing concerning Maj. John DiPietro before the township trustees is scheduled for Oct. 31, Krug said. This comes after the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office declined to file charges in September following a criminal investigation.

DiPietro said Thursday that the investigation was “a review of policy. I’ve not been told different.”

Krug did not address why DiPietro was put on administrative leave now, 14 weeks after the incident. Miami Twp. Trustee Deborah Preston said: “Without having all the information, I really couldn’t comment on that, but I do know that we were waiting for a complete investigation to be done. It’s my understanding that it was completed (Thursday). So, I’m not really sure.”

“I know that our Police Chief is very thorough in making sure that all the facts are complete so that we’re fair to all parties involved,” Preston said.

On Thursday, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office sent an internal affairs investigation of DiPietro to township officials, Sheriff Phil Plummer said. The investigation was done at the request of township officials.

Many of the details concerning the July 12 incident have yet to be revealed publicly, and Krug and DiPietro have declined comment on the details of the investigation.

Plummer has confirmed that DiPietro hosed down the girl in the sallyport at the police headquarters after her arrest, that the girl was naked, and that DiPietro was alone with her at the time. DiPietro was not at the scene of where the girl and an 18-year-old were apprehended.

Plummer has also confirmed that his office, at the request of Miami Twp. officials, conducted a criminal investigation first. That investigation was completed Sept. 26, and prosecutors reviewed it, finding that there was insufficient evidence that DiPietro had committed a felony, according to Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Greg Flannagan.

DiPietro has been deputy chief for 12 years. Before he rose to that position, he was part of two prior internal affairs investigations concerning misbehavior involving women. One of those investigations came after he and another officer each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

His personnel files — actually two files several inches thick — are full of letters of thanks from community groups and supporters. People interviewed for this story said DiPietro was a “top-notch” law enforcement officer and said they would be “shocked” to learn of any inappropriate behavior.

Attorney Doug Trout of the county prosecutor’s office’s civil division, who is representing the township, said the report and its attached documents will be made public Oct. 31. In response to a request from the Dayton Daily News and News Center 7, Trout also has said he will not release surveillance video of the girl being hosed down.

Reached earlier this week, DiPietro said he would not comment about the incident or whether or not he had retained an attorney.

DiPietro said he graduated from Alter High School in 1982, graduated from Sinclair Community College, attended police executive leadership college and attained certified law enforcement executive status. He started with the Miami Twp. Police Department part-time in 1986 and became full-time in 1989.

“I’ve known him since he was a little kid,” said Shirley Omietanski, a long-time trustee who served during DiPietro’s early years. “He was in school with my sons. I trust him. I really think he’s a good person.”

In 1993, DiPietro and another officer became the subjects of an internal investigation after each of them pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of trespassing, according to Dayton Daily News stories published that year. The two were accused of using a credit card to open the lock of an apartment inhabited by a female student at the Miami Twp. Police Academy after a December 1992 police association Christmas party, the Daily News reported.

DiPietro was fined, suspended without pay, had his salary docked $7,000 per year, was put on probation, ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and was demoted from sergeant to detective, the Daily News reported.

Andie Rehkamp, a victim services specialist who co-founded the Southwest Ohio Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said she had known DiPietro for years and he was always willing to help MADD.

“As far as I’m concerned, he’s a top-notch guy,” Rehkamp said. “I’ve always found John to be a great guy, above board.”

DiPietro frequently volunteered to help with MADD activities, by providing training, attending walks, and helping out at candlelight vigils. “All I have to do is make a call,” Rehkamp said.

In recent years, DiPietro has been honored with a state-wide award from MADD, she said.

She was aware of the news stories about the investigations of DiPietro, and she said that they don’t change her opinion.

“I consider John a professional and I also consider him a friend,” Rehkamp said.

In April 1996, the sheriff’s office finished a four-month investigation into the Miami Twp. Police Department, covering alleged misdeeds dating back 15 years, the Daily News reported. Examples included male officers shackling a female officer, an officer being “involved” with a female homicide suspect and an officer lying about taking a stereo from the property room.

DiPietro, now re-promoted to sergeant, and two other officers were cited for improper conduct for “dating” or going to bars and other places with a prostitute while on duty. DiPietro admitted knowing that the woman “was a person with a reputation in the community for involvement in criminal behavior when he ‘dated’ her,” the report states. “He also admitted knowing that he and other police officers should not be watching a pornographic video … in the police station while on duty.”

But three other allegations against DiPietro were investigated and found to be unfounded, according to the report.

The report led to the resignation of the chief and the firing of the department’s second-in-command, the Daily News reported.

Krug, a Dayton officer who led the internal affairs bureau, was hired to be Chief. DiPietro rose up the leadership ranks. He often appeared on local television news and also worked for a while as a part-time helicopter traffic reporter for Channel 7.

“John DiPietro is a good friend and he is one of the finest people I know,” said Ginny Strausburg, the former executive director of the Dayton Power & Light Co. Foundation. “I believe in him.”

Strausburg described DiPietro as a dedicated public servant who was willing to volunteer his own time to help people, in Miami Twp. and beyond. She said the investigations did not change her opinion of DiPietro, adding “let his record stand by the good he has done for the community, and don’t judge until the facts are known.”

Bruce Langos, Chief Operating Officer at Teradata, said he’s known DiPietro for about two years and serves with him on the board of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton.

“I find him pleasing to be around; he talks very ethically, behaves very ethically,” Langos said. “He plays a strong role in supporting businesses and residences in the Miami Twp. community … that’s a great thing to have.”

After hearing about the investigation of the hosing incident, Langos added: “If something (improper) occurred, I would deem it as very out-of-character from what I’ve seen from him. It would be a real shock, in fact. Knowing him at least through the way I know him, two and two wouldn’t add up in my mind.”