NORWOOD — A longtime Norwood police officer has been demoted, following his conviction on a misdemeanor obstructing official business charge for sharing confidential police information with people outside the department.

        Steve Daniels on Tuesday was reduced from lieutenant to patrolman, received an unpaid 30-working-day suspension, was placed on three years' probation and will not be eligible to take a promotional examination for three years. He was also advised to seek public-employee counseling, Norwood Police Capt. Michael Wheeler said.

        The punishment stems from more than a dozen violations of the Norwood department's rules and regulations. Some of the charges included violations of the department's conduct and ethics, confidentiality, unbecoming conduct, neglect of duty and use of department equipment rules. The charges resulted from an internal Norwood Police Department investigation.

        A departmental disciplinary hearing was held Sept. 18. The discipline was recommended by Blue Ash Police Chief Michael Allen, who presided over the hearing, and Norwood Police Chief William Schlie.

        “(The hearing officer) upheld 13 of the 14 charges and made a recommendation to the chief,” Capt. Wheeler said. “Our chief examined the information ... and thought that this was appropriate.”

        Officer Daniels can appeal the discipline to the city's civil service commission. Neither the officer or his attorney could be reached for comment Wednesday.

        Last month, the officer received a suspended 15-day jail sentence and a $750 fine from a visiting Hamilton County Common Pleas judge on the obstruction charge.

        He was indicted in April on a felony obstructing official business charge. In a bargain with prosecutors, he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge.

        The conviction stems from an allegation that Officer Daniels intercepted a fax transmission that contained sensitive information intended for the Norwood Drug Task Force.

        Police and prosecutors have said Officer Daniels copied and shared the fax with others — including a suspected drug dealer under investigation — ruining several months of work and halting a major drug investigation involving Fairfield police, the Drug Enforcement Administration and several suspects.

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