BEDFORD – An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper told the Fox 8 I-Team he is innocent of three misdemeanor charges.
Trooper Erick Billups appeared in Bedford Municipal Court Thursday to face charges of disorderly conduct and child endangering.
“Due process, that is the good thing about America,” Billups said Thursday morning as he walked out of the courtroom. “I am innocent, definitely.”
He said he was in the process of hiring an attorney and plans to fight the charges.
Billups was arrested by Bedford police early Wednesday morning.
Bedford Deputy Police Chief Rick Suts says Billups locked his two small children and their mother out of the house. Officers went to the home and tried for three hours to get Billups to open the door.
“Our officers made it very clear that his two young children needed to get in the house,” Suts said. “This was very early in the morning. They needed to be in the house. We tried knocking on the doors. We asked officials at his post to call his cell phone. We did everything we could to get him to answer the phone.”
An official with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Billups will be on an administrative leave while an internal investigation is being conducted.
Billups is due back in court next month.