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Detective in Widmer case to be questioned again about personnel file

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By Denise G. Callahan, Staff Writer 5:05 PM Friday, July 15, 2011

CINCINNATI — Ryan Widmer’s defense attorneys couldn’t use former Hamilton Twp. Detective Jeff Braley’s false employment records against him, but attorneys in a civil lawsuit against him will.

A federal judge approved a second deposition of Braley by attorneys representing the Pritchard family during a hearing on Friday. The suit filed several years ago accuses Braley, former Police Chief Frank Richardson, Lt. Phil Johnson, former officer Roger Gilbert and his wife Gail of staging an improper raid on their home in 2007.

Widmer is serving 15 years to life in prison for drowning his wife Sarah in the bathtub of their home in August 2008. Braley was the lead detective on the case and Widmer’s attorneys tried twice to get his falsified employment records before jurors, to discredit him. The judge disallowed the revelations because Braley denied putting inflated employment and educational experience in his records.

Braley resigned last month after an outside investigator’s report showed the records in the employment file were false.

Konrad Kircher, the Pritchard’s attorney, said Judge Susan Dlott will allow him to question Braley again and also former police chief and current Trustee Gene Duvelius. He said the false employment records will bolster what he already considers a strong case.

“We’ve always been able to prove this raid was ill conceived and falsely manipulated and now we can give further background on that story,” Kircher said. “The brains behind the operation, Jeff Braley, was poorly qualified, had a history of manipulation, had a history of misleading his co-workers about his intentions and capabilities. It all came together that night with very bad consequences.”

Braley got a tip there might be underage drinking at the Pritchards party, so he arranged a sting operation. Court records show Braley drove by the party several times and didn’t see anything actionable until around 11:45 p.m. on his final check of the home. He reported seeing four individuals on the side of the home, and one appeared to be loud and intoxicated.

The suit says a decision was made to have Gilbert’s wife call in a noise complaint from her home in another county, since no Pritchard neighbors had complained.

The police converged on the party and made two arrests, one a party-goer who ran when the police arrived and another guest who was filming the action on his cellphone. Police asked him to stop, which he did, but opened his phone again when he received a text message, the lawsuit said. The underage drinking arrest of the guest who ran was dropped, as were disorderly conduct charges against the cellphone user.

Mary and Edward Pritchard and some party guests sued the officers, claiming the raid involved an unlawful search and arrests. They are seeking in excess of $75,000 in damages.

Braley’s attorney Wilson Weisenfelder said he objected to the repeat interview of his client, to the extent that only questions regarding the employment records will be allowed. He said he is not concerned that a jury will hear this information and there will be no settlement offers. The trial is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2012.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.

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