Murder Suspect Does Not Have A History Of Violence

previously worked for the Mentor Police Department as an officer and the Lake County Sheriff's Office as a special deputy.

While at those jobs, he was sometimes reprimanded and even suspended for showing up late for shifts, getting in car accidents and missing training.

However, he never got in trouble at either department for losing his temper, according to his personnel files.

"He never got into any trouble for use-of-force issues," Mentor Police Chief Daniel Llewellyn said.

that Stroud did not have a history of violence at his department.

"There were never any serious problems with him," Dunlap said. "A couple of times he left his post early but that was addressed."

Additionally, Stroud was never charged with a violent crime before he was .

Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Chief John Gielink said the department had been to Stroud's house on Marine Parkway only once before, when it was broken into two years ago.

Granted, Stroud did sometimes get into trouble for other issues during his tenure at Mentor Police Department.

Stroud was hired to department in in 1977, made a full-time officer in 1979 and retired from the department in 2005 after 26 years as a Mentor Police officer.

During his tenure at the department, he was suspended from work for a total of 54 days.

Most of those suspensions were for a day or two at a time and stemmed from performance issues, Llewellyn said. They included Stroud missing training dates and court appearances, showing up late for a shift and taking vacation time when he had none left.

He was also suspended for a total of 11 days for getting into car crashes while working, including a 5-day suspension in 1996 when he crashed while pursuing a suspect.

This came to a head in 2002 when he was suspended for 10 days in 2002 for unsatisfactory performance. That was the last time he was suspended.

"It was a culmination of all the past things," said Llewellyn, who became chief in 2003.

However, Stroud performed some aspects of his job very well, the chief said. Stroud received the Exceptional Service Award in 1983 for his investigation of a burglary at that led to six arrests.

"He really got involved in investigations," Llewellyn said. "His people skills with adults and juveniles -- that was another of his strengths.

"He was really committed to this business," Llewellyn said of Stroud. "He served the profession well during his time here in Mentor."

In 1997, Stroud had to take a physical and psychological test to see if he was fit to serve as a Mentor officer. The cause for the test and its results, however, are not public record because they were medical in nature, Llewellyn said.

But the test must have found Stroud fit to serve because he continued working as a Mentor police officer for another eight years.

Stroud was charged with murder after .

The body is thought to be .

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