Photos show NBC4 blocked on Reynoldsburg police computers

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (WCMH) – Police officers for the City of Reynoldsburg are reporting that NBC4i.com has been blocked on department-owned computers.

Officers reported this anonymously, for fear of repercussions from Reynoldsburg police leadership, after a report about the Reynoldsburg Division of Police ran last Wednesday on NBC4 and was later posted on NBC4i.com.

The report was part of NBC4’s ongoing coverage of alleged turmoil among the ranks at RPD, and featured officers speaking on the record about low morale and retaliatory leadership.

Mayor Joe Begeny said that NBC4i.com has not been blocked on his work computer and questioned whether any of the affected devices were owned by the city or its police force.

“We are reviewing all devices to see if there is any actual evidence of this occurring on any City device to verify,” Begeny wrote in an email, “but it is unlikely that the devices … are actually property of the City of Reynoldsburg or the Reynoldsburg Police Department.”

NBC4 began hearing Thursday that the site was blocked, although the same people were able to reach other local news sites. Those visiting NBC4i.com reached a page with an error message on it, regardless of which web browser they used, that contained the wording "tunnel connection failed," a sign that a site has been blocked by a network administrator.

As of Wednesday morning, NBC4 was still receiving reports of its website being blocked. Asked when access was first prohibited to NBC4i.com, officers said they were unsure.

Brian Marvin, a retired Reynoldsburg detective who investigated cybercrimes and helped manage certain IT systems for the department, said a third-party vendor handles the city’s IT services.