NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — An independent investigation has cleared North Royalton's police chief and a lieutenant of any criminal wrongdoing after a patrolman accused them of tampering with his arrest report — but the union representing the officer is rejecting the findings and demanding state investigators take over the case.

The eight-page report, released this week and authored by Cleveland attorney James J. Hofelich, concludes that Police Chief Keith Tarase and Lt. Jim Cutler acted within their authority when they deleted felony weapons charges from an arrest report involving Orange Village Deputy Chief Patrick O'Callahan. Conversely, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 15 — which represents the whistleblower, Patrolman Spencer Lowe — is calling the investigation a "whitewash" and a "f

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