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This article was first published by The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.
A Cuyahoga County sheriff’s deputy who participated in high-speed chases that killed two bystanders admitted to “lying” during his background check and keeping details off his application, according to his personnel file.
Deputy Kasey Loudermilk denied having already accepted a job as an officer with the Cleveland Clinic during the sheriff department’s hiring process. He also did not list on his application that the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Highland Heights police had disqualified him for failing polygraph and physical agility tests, according to Loudermilk’s personnel file.
“He apologized for lying and openly admitted to accepting the job at the Cleveland Clinic, but would rather work for our agency,” Sheriff’s Detective Kevin Harvey wrote in the conclusion of a 250-page background investigation.
Dishonesty on job applications typically disqualifies most people, but Loudermilk still got a sheriff’s badge and gun and landed on the controversial Downtown Safety Patrol.
How Loudermilk got his job sheds more light on hiring practices within the sheriff’s department after another deputy was deemed unfit to be an officer, but was hired anyway.
Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department leaders, police experts said, ignored warning signs and should have never hired either deputy, as the failures create trust issues with the public.
“This is an indication that there are systemic issues in the hiring process,” said Kalfani Turé, an assistant professor at Widener University who studies police practices in Pennsylvania. “The agency had forewarnings and made bad decisions.”
Loudermilk, who is now on administrative duty, did not respond to a request for comment. Kelly Woodard, the county’s director of communications, declined to answer questions about the hiring process.
“Deputy Loudermilk was hired under a sheriff appointed prior to this administration,” she wrote in a statement. “The Sheriff’s Department is committed to attracting qualified candidates and ensuring a fair hiring process.”
Cuyahoga County Council President Dale Miller questioned the sheriff’s department’s hiring practices.
“If someone deliberately lies during the application process, we should not be hiring them,” Miller told The Marshall Project – Cleveland. “That is a problem.”
Since 2018, Loudermilk has worked for police departments in North Perry, Grand River, University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic, state records show.
He joined the sheriff’s department in November 2022.
Harvey learned Loudermilk accepted a job at the Cleveland Clinic after speaking to Loudermilk’s supervisor at the University Hospitals’ police force, records show. Loudermilk denied taking the job when Harvey questioned him.
After a second phone call, Loudermilk came clean.
Loudermilk listed on a polygraph questionnaire during the sheriff department’s hiring process that the Ohio State Patrol rejected him because he failed a polygraph exam. He said he later took a second exam and passed, according to a sheriff’s polygraph report.
He also told the examiner that Highland Heights police officials disqualified him because he failed a physical agility test.
The examiner wrote that Loudermilk did not disclose the details on his application because he did not have enough space available.
Loudermilk passed the polygraph, but the examiner wrote that “the significant information should be considered” when deciding if Loudermilk was an acceptable candidate.
Jeff Wenninger, a Cleveland-area expert on police tactics, said law enforcement demands high standards, as most departments have a zero tolerance for lying.
“It should be considered a character disqualification,” Wenninger said. “False and misleading statements make it reasonable to question an officer’s integrity in actions, report writing, testimony and failing to report observed misconduct.”
The polygraph report showed Loudermilk had credibility issues, which now brings liabilities to the county, Ture said.
Loudermilk pursued a car early Sunday that struck Sharday Elder’s vehicle on Superior Avenue and Addison Road. Elder was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to a sheriff’s incident report, which stated that speeds exceeded 100 mph. The driver Loudermilk was pursuing now faces charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter and operating a vehicle while under the influence. He pleaded not guilty Thursday, News 5 Cleveland reported.
Loudermilk also led a chase in March where the other driver struck Tamya Westmoreland’s Range Rover at the Eddy Road exit off Interstate 90, according to reports. She died, along with the driver who fled from Loudermilk.
Another sheriff’s deputy, Isen Vajusi, was forced off a suburban police force after he failed field training, The Marshall Project – Cleveland and News 5 Cleveland reported in June. That department found that he lacked confidence, had difficulty in stressful situations, and “hesitates because he is afraid of making a mistake.”
In May, he fired rounds at a teenager and was temporarily assigned to another unit. He is now on administrative duty with the downtown unit.
The news outlets reported recently that Vajusi pointed a rifle out a window in a December chase where speeds topped 100 mph.
Two months before that chase, Vajusi had shot a teenager in the leg.
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Mark Puente, The Marshall Project
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