Troyer resigns as Putnam County sheriff's deputy

Saturday, January 10, 2015

A Putnam County deputy charged with false informing has chosen to resign, Sheriff Scott Stockton said Friday.

Deputy Philip Troyer of Greencastle was charged last month in Putnam Superior Court with Class B false informing. The charge was related to a police report he filed regarding former Deputy T.J. Smith's assault of an already restrained man in September 2012.

Troyer testified in federal court last September that his report on the 2012 incident was inconsistent with what actually happened.

He subsequently gave the same account of the incident to Putnam County Prosecutor's Office Investigator David Meadows.

Based on Meadows' investigation, Parke County Prosecutor Steve Cvengros (serving as special prosecutor) chose to press charges against Troyer.

Shortly after testifying in the Smith case, Troyer was reassigned to a jailer position with the sheriff's department, although he maintained his status as a merit deputy.

On Friday, Stockton, the new sheriff, discussed the matter with Troyer.

"Today I met with Deputy Philip Troyer at the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and had a conversation concerning his future, moving forward, with the department," Stockton said. "At that time he chose to separate service from this agency."

Stockton said the sheriff's merit board had been notified and that he had reached out to the Putnam County Commissioners concerning the matter.

No hearing dates have been set in Troyer's case. A Class B misdemeanor is punishable by zero to 180 days in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.

Based in part on Troyer's testimony, a federal jury found Smith guilty of two Class C felony counts of deprivation of civil rights under color of law.

Smith is set to serve a 14-month sentence in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release.

With the departures of Troyer and Smith, there are 20 merit deputies serving Putnam County. The merit division consists of Sheriff Scott Stockton; Chief Deputy Phil Parker; Col. Tom Helmer; captains Danny Wallace and Steve Fenwick; lieutenants Donnie Pettit, Doug Nally and Dwight Simmons; Detective Sgt. Pat McFadden; sergeants Gregg Slover, Craig Sibbitt and Jon Chadd; and deputies Virgil Lanning, Josh Boller, Adam Hull, Mike Downing, Matt Biggs, Kyle Gibbons, Tyler Turner and Steve Smith.

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  • Absolutely, terrible. One of the most honest guys. He was truly mislead and heavily influenced by the ones, now convicted and (the one that's supposedly filed lawsuits and won, for hundred's of thousands of dollars, according to this habitual and pathological lying deputy) that is still there. Truly a loss to this county. Though, now the county is in great hands of leadership, of Sheriff Stockton, it will lack Deputy Troyer. Thank you for your long, dedicated and honest service to every person of this county, deputy Troyer. And before anyone of this county decides to judge Troyer harshly....he's one of two law enforcement officers in this county that I have stood and watched in action. Not only for law enforcement, but service. I've personally witnessed him in medical and traumatic emergencies. In fact, he's one that cried with me over unfortunate scenarios losing children and people's loved ones. When someone's child, parent, brother, sister or relative couldn't breath or wasn't breathing, Troyer was there, forgetting he was an official, he was trying to save a life, or fetching anything the medics or fireman needed to revive someone. It is terrible to watch someone's dream, that they were truly good at and one of the best, be stripped away. All because one person and their "good ole boy system" that runs all the way up to the 4th floor of the courthouse. Terribly sad. Troyer, keep your head up, son. Good things come to good people.

    -- Posted by BrutallyHonest on Fri, Jan 9, 2015, at 9:25 PM
  • Captain Steve Fenwick?

    -- Posted by Geologist on Sat, Jan 10, 2015, at 7:45 AM
  • VFF,I noticed that also...

    -- Posted by kubotafan on Sat, Jan 10, 2015, at 10:03 AM
  • Only the Lord above knows all the truth about everything. With that being said let's all get on with the things at hand and in the future. Good luck to Sheriff Stockton and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.

    -- Posted by interestedperson#1 on Sat, Jan 10, 2015, at 1:16 PM
  • No doubt Mr. Troyer is a good person, but good people can also make mistakes. We can all wish him better things in the future.

    To me the important part about this story is that an independent special prosecutor from another county took over, instead of just protecting the "good old boys" as we have seen in other nationally high profile cases recently. We should be proud that the justice system in Putnam Co. decided to be transparent and avoid the appearance of partnership. The use of individual video cameras for our law enforcement officers is good for everyone.

    -- Posted by GrCa Citizen on Sat, Jan 10, 2015, at 6:52 PM
  • Simply said....Good! Criminals shouldn't be police officers.

    -- Posted by dcsaiht on Sat, Jan 10, 2015, at 10:34 PM
  • While I believe Troyer is no doubt a good person and does his job. But to put his actions on the shoulders of someone else is irresponsible. He is a grown man capable of making his own decisions. He gets yearly training on ethics and procedures. If he knew something and didn't say it it is on him.

    " One of the most honest guys. He was truly mislead and heavily influenced by the ones, now convicted and (the one that's supposedly filed lawsuits and won, for hundred's of thousands of dollars, according to this habitual and pathological lying deputy) that is still there."

    Guess he wasn't one of the most honest guys you pointed out. I get why he did it though, not saying it's right, but I get it. It is about the Thin Blue line. Taking care of your brother in blue, watching his back and making sure you stick to your stories. However, this story got a little stickier than they all planned.

    I wish him the best though, but I have a feeling that the new Sheriff is going to clean some house and this sadly won't be the last one we see resign or worse.

    -- Posted by H.A.C.K. on Sun, Jan 11, 2015, at 7:12 AM
  • Sheriff Stockton is cleaning house! Good for him! I hope he keeps up the momentum for the next 4 years. I believe he is one we can trust! Best thing so far, that has happened to our county in a long time.

    Please, Sheriff Stockton, don't let us down!!

    -- Posted by chicken on Mon, Jan 12, 2015, at 1:39 AM
  • Quid pro quo?

    Now that Troyer has provided Bookwalter with the quid of quid pro quo, will the quo be the vanishing of the criminal charges?

    I suspect that Bookwalter's associates will dismiss charges naming Troyer while proclaiming no criminal intent because Troyer was instructed by his supervisor.

    The next headache for the criminal gang in the courthouse is the civil rights lawsuits that may result. I wager that Bookwalter and associates will do everything humanly possible to settle out of court to prevent their past from being fully exposed.

    Sadly, while Bookwalter and associates will benefit, the taxpayers of Putnam County will pay the costs of the abuse.

    -- Posted by 1gaclark1@gmail.com on Mon, Jan 12, 2015, at 12:12 PM
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