Most people who live in Bellaire and surrounding townships are well aware of the poor reputation the BPD holds within its community. While most people have a first-hand story or know someone who has a story of a bad interaction with BPD cops, not many can claim their city is safer because BPD is around.

Drugs and crime have flourished in Bellaire under BPD’s watch, which has contributed to the overall decline of the city. When drugs and crime are rampant, people and businesses leave town, causing a lack of opportunity, which leads to more drugs and more crime. It’s a vicious cycle.

Evidence of corruption is everywhere. For example, in 2021, Gene Grim was fired from the force after it was discovered he was extorting sexual favors from various women in the community. When the issue was raised to leadership at the BPD, Chief Richard “Dick” Flanagan did nothing about it. Concerned citizens ask, “Why?”

My in-person interview with Travis Mitchell at a visitor booth in the San Diego County Jail tells a story of BPD cops running illegal drugs, using people like him (that is, people the BPD has dirt on and can easily control under threat of arrest and charge at any moment.)  If questioned the BPD cops’ bidding, they’d be picked up, driven miles into the hills, and left to walk home (sometimes, after taking their shoes from them.)  According to Mitchell, the scheme worked like this: a BPD cop acquires the illegal drugs and gives them to Mitchell and/or others to sell. When the drugs are sold, the money goes back to the BPD cop. During my interview, Mitchell also implicated Mayor Vince DiFabrizio in these types of transactions.

Dick Flanagan was investigated by the Ohio Auditor’s Office for “mishandling” of funds from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund. The LETF is a fund that is used for “controlled illegal drug buys.”  As a BPD Lieutenant, Flanagan used money from the fund to buy illegal drugs. These buys were most likely made through confidential informants to the BPD. 

Understandably, documentation of the funds and the transactions would need to be meticulously maintained in the interest of transparency and to show the public that everything is above-board. Flanagan failed to satisfy the documentation requirements, according to the Ohio Auditor’s Office:

This type of behavior certainly does not improve the public perception of corruption within the department but, instead, leaves us wondering where the money actually went. Flanagan has been mandated to payback over $15,000 to the LETF, while the rest of us are left shaking our heads.

Despite BPD’s historically bad reputation, leadership in the department and the city seems uninterested in changing the status quo. It seems BPD will hire seemingly anyone who can fog a mirror into their department.
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In 2018, they hired Tim Loehmann, the Cleveland police officer who, in 2014, shot and killed unarmed 12-year-old Tamir Rice. While he was spared an indictment for that charge of wrongdoing by a grand jury, the CPD fired him after they discovered he had lied on his application – failing to mention that he was previously employed as a police officer in the Independence Police Department. His motivation for not disclosing his position there was probably to hide his poor performance record. The IPD allowed him to resign, despite his supervisors recommending he be fired, citing “instances of insubordination, lying and an ‘inability to emotionally function.'”  All that is good enough for Chief Flanagan, apparently. BPD can use another compromised police officer. Compromised individuals tend to keep their mouths shut when they witness or participate in systemic corruption. It’s the Jeffrey Epstein model.

​This article will be updated with new information as soon as it's ready.