Police Chief Accused of Dating Fugitive Heroin Addict

A former Ohio police chief is facing 12 criminal charges for allegedly harboring a woman sought on drug charges—and dating her in his spare time, Raw Story reports. As police chief of Glouster, Ohio (population 1,800), Lucas Mace met 23-year-old Hillary Hooper on the scene of a traffic accident. Despite her outstanding warrants, Mace let her go, slept with her, and helped her flee authorities, according to prosecutor Keller Blackburn. Mace's behavior reveals a "shameful pattern of wrongdoing," said Blackburn. "He was basically using his office as a dating service."

Blackburn also accused him of hiding from the mayor while on the job and helping Hooper—an alleged heroin addict—change a car tire while in uniform. What's more, Blackburn said Mace kept a camera running in his office, dated women "inappropriate to his public position," and likely had sex in his patrol car, the Columbus Dispatch reports. An intimate tidbit: Mace described Hooper as a "softie" because "she had the softest skin he'd ever touched," said Blackburn, apparently relying on recorded radio traffic. No word yet from Mace, who's suspended without pay. (More Ohio stories.)