Facing federal charges, Cincinnati police captain to retire June 10

CINCINNATI, Ohio (FOX19) - A veteran Cincinnati police captain recently arrested and facing federal charges has announced his retirement, according to Lt. Steve Saunders.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman announced Capt. Michael Savard’s arrest last week. He was placed on desk duty in January, but department officials never said why they took away his police powers.

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Savard was arrested Thursday at 801 Linn St., according to his jail booking sheet. Several Cincinnati police offices are located there, including the records section, which is where Savard was administratively assigned after he lost his police powers.

The arresting officer is listed as Dept. of Treasury.

Savard, an officer since April 1994, oversaw the department’s Special Services Section, which includes the K-9 and traffic units, and worked scores of off-duty details, including several at bars and clubs, while he was a lieutenant, police records show.

He was promoted to captain in April 2017 and was transferred to the Special Services Section in 2018, according to his personnel file.

His latest available job performance evaluation, from 2017, rated him “Exceeds Standards” on all sections, a copy of it shows.

Internal investigations, however, determined he violated police procedures for off-duty police details in 2015 and was reprimanded at least once, records show.

FOX19 will continue to monitor this developing story.