Damon Scales returned to regular patrol on Sept. 11, 2026, after nearly a year on desk duty while Columbus police investigated his off-duty conduct outside Goodnight John Boy in the Short North. The department completed its investigation in early August and imposed a 32-hour suspension to be deducted from his accrued time off, according to WHIO.
The reported outcome combines an employment decision with allegations that did not lead to criminal charges. WHIO reported that investigators found Scales violated the sick-leave policy by not being at home during work hours and failed to meet a conduct standard. Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol was listed as a reason for the investigation. The outlet also reported that no criminal charges were filed. Those departmental findings should not be mistaken for a criminal case or conviction.
The records trail is still a separate question
The available account establishes the reported findings, penalty and return date, but does not provide the investigative report, the disciplinary notice or the policy language applied. Those documents could help explain the department’s reasoning and how it recorded the time-off deduction; their contents should not be assumed from the reported outcome alone.
For requests involving city departments not listed on its portal, the City of Columbus public-records portal directs requesters to contact the department or office’s appointed records officer. That guidance identifies a route for seeking records; it does not establish that any particular document in Scales’s case is available for release.
WHIO’s account says Scales had been with the division since September 2022. It does not include a response from him or further details about the disciplinary process. The duration and terms of his desk assignment, the underlying investigative materials and any response from the officer therefore remain unanswered in the reporting cited here.
