Off-duty Calif. Officer Accused of Assaulting Man

OAKWOOD - An off-duty Oakwood police officer accused of assaulting a man inside a Rite Aid Pharmacy on Oct. 14 told his wife, who also is a Oakwood police officer, to get a gun from a car during the incident.

Officers John McCalister and Tiffany McCalister and Paul Watts, 48, had a "verbal altercation" after Watts asked the McCalisters for change about 3:30 p.m. at the pharmacy, 1158 Wilmington Ave., according to a Dayton Police Department incident report.

"Complainant John McCalister advised Tiffany McCalister to go to the car and get the phone and get the gun," the report said.

According to the report, Watts then uttered an expletive at McCalister and said, "I'll kick your --- anyway."

Tiffany McCalister did not get a gun.

On Thursday, Nov. 5, the City of Dayton Public Affairs Office released surveillance video of the incident, which shows John McCalister striking a man twice in the store and the man not fighting back.

Following the video's release, Oakwood Public Safety Director Alex Bebris issued this statement: "I find this video to be very disturbing. The allegations made against Officer McCalister as charged by the Dayton Prosecutor's Office are very serious - and if sustained, should not be reviewed as reflective of the behavior expected or tolerated by this department."

Bebris said both McCalisters were off-duty and out of uniform. McCalister remains on administrative leave. Bebris said an internal investigation is ongoing.

John McCalister, a Dayton firefighter for 10 years prior to joining the Oakwood Public Safety Department in 1995, faces a misdemeanor assault charge that has been filed in Dayton Municipal Court.

Watts has not been charged.

Tiffany McCalister, a Dayton police officer from 1999-2007, has not been charged but has been put on administrative leave.

In April 2006, John McCalister reported to Dayton police that a 28-year-old man approached him and relatives on West Monument Avenue while McCalister was offduty. McCalister told police the man threatened to kill him and attempted to punch him in the face after McCalister claimed to have identified himself as an off-duty police officer, the report said. The man was arrested for menacing and disorderly conduct. Bebris said he wasn't aware of the 2006 incident.