Columbus police officers arrested on OVI charges

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Columbus Division of Police relieved three officers of duty after they were each arrested within four days of one another in different incidents.

Officer Robbie Whitlow, Sgt. Melvin Romans and Officer Tylor Nixon are all without their gun and badges as of Tuesday evening -- on either restricted duty or leave, a Columbus police spokesperson said.

Gahanna police arrested Nixon, 26, on Friday around 3:10 a.m., and he has since pleaded not guilty to three OVI charges in Franklin County Municipal Court. Nixon's blood alcohol level was measured at .168 via a breathalyzer test, more than double the state legal limit of .08, according to court documents.

Nixon also faces a charge of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, but he had not entered a plea on that charge as of Tuesday evening.

Nixon's next date in court is scheduled for Friday, March 24.

Romans is facing an OVI charge in Circleville, the spokesperson said, after he was arrested Sunday. An October 2022 post made by CPD on Facebook highlighted Romans as the Officer of the Year, awarded by Central Ohio Crime Stoppers.

One day after Romans' arrest, Ohio State Highway Patrol arrested Whitlow, 35, on Monday around 2:40 a.m. in Pickerington, according to Fairfield County Municipal Court records. Whitlow refused to submit to a breathalyzer test.

Whitlow is facing OVI and lane violation charges. He is scheduled to be arraigned in court next Tuesday.

The arrests came the same day that Columbus police announced a new DUI mobile breathalyzer would begin patrols -- ahead of St. Patrick's Day.

A fourth Columbus police officer, Trier Knieper, remains on duty after being charged with OVI, drag racing or street racing, and speeding for a Jan. 3 incident along Interstate 270. She is due back in court on April 24.