NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — The police union representing North Royalton police officers condemned the city's plans to terminate the patrolman who filed a whistleblower complaint alleging his superiors tampered with records Thursday.
North Royalton Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz signed a notice of disciplinary action proposing termination for Officer Spencer Lowe for "unauthorized and improper release of police records" on Monday.
The mayor also demoted a sergeant who is accused of helping Lowe.
The union says it plans to appeal and take the matter to arbitration.
How it started
The city's disciplinary decisions stem from a traffic stop on Oct. 11 2025.
Lowe pulled over then Orange Village Deputy Chief Patrick O'Callahan for speeding and swerving in and out of lanes.
The discipline is the latest chapter in a saga that began on Oct. 11, 2025, when Lowe pulled over Orange Village Deputy Chief Patrick O'Callahan on Royalton Road for driving 55 mph in a 35 mph zone and repeatedly swerving out of his lane.
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Lowe arrested O'Callahan and seized several guns from his car.
The investigations
Through his attorney, Lowe said he filed a police report that included charges of OVI, a traffic violation, and a felony charge for improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.
Lowe alleged Police Chief Keith Tarase told Lt. Jim Cutler to delete the felony charge.
Lowe's attorney then filed a whistleblower complaint with Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley and the mayor.
The mayor hired an attorney to conduct an independent investigation. The attorney, James Hofelich, cleared Tarase and Cutler of wrongdoing when they removed the felony charge.
O'Callahan retired from the Orange Village Police Department a few weeks after his arrest. He was later convicted of OVI.
An internal affairs investigation found Patrolman Lowe, with assistance from Sergeant FloAnn Rybicki, "removed department records without authorization."
FOP Lodge #15 response
Brian J. Smith, the attorney representing the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 15, emailed News 5 the following statement:
"The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 15, condemns the City of North Royalton's decision to terminate Patrolman Spencer Lowe for exposing misconduct within the department's command staff. The City also targeted Sergeant Flo Ann Rybicki for demotion merely because she provided Lowe with documents related to the traffic stop, including his own report.
Let's be clear about what happened here. Officer Lowe discovered that command staff secretly accessed a police database to scrub a felony gun charge from an arrest report, protecting a law enforcement executive from a neighboring jurisdiction. He preserved the audit logs, secured the original documents, and reported the tampering to the Mayor and his union attorney, exactly as a whistleblower should. The City's response was not to hold the Chief and Lieutenant accountable for altering a police report. It was to fire the officer who caught them and demote the sergeant who handed him his own paperwork.
The people who altered the records still have their jobs. The people who exposed them are being shown the door. That tells you everything you need to know about the City's priorities.
The City has made its expectations plain: When command staff hides evidence, your job is to look the other way. Your career depends on it.
The FOP will appeal within the required five-day window. That appeal will be heard by Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz, the same official who authorized and signed the punishments. We trust the irony is not lost on anyone.
FOP Lodge 15 fully supports Officer Lowe and Sergeant Rybicki and will take this matter to an independent, neutral arbitrator, where we will prevail, reverse the damage the City has attempted to inflict, and force North Royalton to make both officers whole. "
Mayor's statement
North Royalton Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz declined our request for an on-camera interview, but emailed us the following:
"On Monday, March 16, in my capacity as Mayor/Safety Director and based upon the findings of the Police Department’s own Internal Affairs investigation, I have recommended that Officer Spencer Lowe be terminated from employment and that Sgt. FloAnn Rybicki be demoted in rank to Patrol Officer. As it is likely that I may be involved in further proceedings in these matters, I must refrain from any further statements that might interfere with the rights of the parties or the due process to which they are entitled."
