LAKE COUNTY, Ind. (WLS) — The northwest Indiana police chief who was arrested in Ohio on Friday is now facing charges.
Authorities took New Chicago Police Chief Earl Mayo into custody in Ohio’s Clark County on Friday.
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Charges against Mayo were filed in Lake County, Indiana on Sunday. He is charged with official misconduct, obstruction of justice, theft, and unlawful possession of an anabolic steroid.
This comes after Mayo’s father, Indiana State Police Major and Lake County sheriff candidate Jerry Williams, confirmed the arrest on Saturday.
Officials said investigators searched Mayo’s home in Merrillville.
ABC7 has reached out to New Chicago city officials for more information.
Williams released the following statement on Saturday:
“My wife and I and our family are deeply concerned over recent information regarding our son, Earl Mayo, chief of the New Chicago Police Department. We raised all of our children with love, guidance and a strong foundation of values. We’ve always held our children to higher standards, as we have ourselves.
We have very little information about this incident at this time. We are aware there are allegations that are troubling, and we struggle to reconcile them with the values we worked so hard to instill in all of our children and grandchildren.
Under our criminal justice system, Earl is presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise. We respect that fundamental principle, and it is important that the legal process be allowed to proceed fairly and impartially.
If it is ultimately established that Earl engaged in the conduct alleged by the government, then he must and should accept responsibility for his actions and face the consequences.
This is an extremely difficult and emotional time for our family. Given the seriousness of this matter and the ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment any further on the undisclosed details of this situation.”
This is a developing story. Check back with ABC7 for updates.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
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