Bethesda Patrolman Pete Busack gives a report Thursday to village council.

BETHESDA — Eric Smith is no longer the village’s police chief.

Bethesda Mayor Martin Lucas announced Smith’s resignation during village council’s Thursday meeting. A full council of Charles Little, Jordan Castella, Cindy Foose, Carol Merritt, Jay Van Horn and Ruby Saffell voted unanimously to accept the resignation.

“Mr. Smith has agreed to resign from the Village of Bethesda Police Department effective Oct. 19, 2018,” Lucas said.

After the meeting, Smith declined to comment.

Smith was suspended with pay in April following several tumultuous public meetings regarding his behavior as chief. Since April, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has been investigating allegations that Smith misused the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway, a computer system police officers used to share criminal justice data. Earlier on Thursday, a spokesperson from the attorney general’s office said state prosecutors are still reviewing findings.

Smith was originally placed on suspension while Lucas and a special counsel drafted a complaint. They had intended to hold a public hearing with the goal of removing Smith from office, but the process was dropped so as not to interfere with the state’s criminal investigation. The allegation of misuse of the data sharing service was one of the charges against Smith. Belmont County Sheriff David Lucas said his office received a request from Bethesda for an investigation and referred that request to the attorney general.

Lucas also informed council that the village will stop providing police service to Union Township.

“I was informed this past week that Union Township will no longer contract with the Bethesda Police Department,” Lucas said. “This will also eliminate any patrolling or coverage of extra curricular activities on the Union Local school campus. Without contractual jurisdiction we simply aren’t able to patrol or have any policing authority on the campus.

“I will further say that this does not reflect that the Bethesda Police Department will not participate in mutual aid of any surrounding law enforcement agencies,” the mayor continued. “If any situation that other law enforcement agencies are in need of assistance within the county, our department most certainly will respond when needed. As far as the restructure of the department, I am currently working with the police committee and council to put in place a department that will focus mainly on the coverage of Bethesda.”

The village had been providing security for Union Local during extracurricular events, but the school district hired its own security team this year. The village had been in negotiation to provide security for the district.

He said the rebuilding of the police department will continue.

“The restructure process will be in depth to the point of selecting a police chief along with reviewing and revising job descriptions and the financials of the department,” Lucas said.

He added that the village has one full-time officer, Pete Busack, and part-time officers. Lucas said another part-time officer may be raised to full-time.

The village continues to patrol Bethesda, Morristown and Goshen Township.

“We will move forward, one step at a time,” Busack said.

A finance meeting will be held this Monday to review matters including police finances. A time has not been set.