Tonina Lamanna #
Introduction #
Tonina Lamanna served as police chief of Gratis, Ohio, a village of fewer than 1,000 residents in the state’s southwest. On May 28, 2026, the Gratis Village Council voted 4-2 to remove her from the position after an independent investigation examined school visits she and another officer made that April, during which she allegedly claimed to be conducting wellness checks on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case drew attention far beyond the small village because ICE publicly disavowed the visits.
Background Information #
Gratis is a small community: the village itself has a population of less than 1,000, while the surrounding township area holds around 4,200 residents, according to the 2020 census. Its police department is correspondingly small. The village also held a 287(g) agreement, a partnership arrangement with ICE under a federal program that became a direct consequence of the episode.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
Allegations. Lamanna was fired after an independent investigation by Clemans, Nelson & Associates found she acted outside her jurisdiction while claiming to act on behalf of ICE, which disavowed the visits; she was not criminally charged. Accounts drawn from her personnel file as reported also attribute a prior 2020 firing by the Dayton Police Department to alleged falsification and untruthfulness. These are investigation findings and records claims as reported, not criminal convictions.
According to an investigative report by Clemans, Nelson & Associates Inc., Lamanna and Officer Jeffrey Baylor were accused of conducting welfare checks at multiple Hamilton County public schools on April 15, 2026, while acting outside their jurisdiction. Police1, citing WLWT, reported that the two traveled more than an hour from Gratis to visit three schools, where Lamanna allegedly claimed to be conducting “wellness checks” on behalf of ICE. Investigators found that village officials were unaware of the officers’ actions, and the inquiry also reviewed complaints submitted by another officer regarding the conduct of Lamanna and Baylor.
The findings led Mayor Kevin Johnson to recommend Lamanna’s termination, citing concerns that included alleged actions outside contractual authority involving ICE, violations of administrative leave, intimidation or retaliation toward officers, mismanagement of department records and evidence, improper traffic stops, and failure to report potential criminal activity. “Taken collectively, these issues demonstrate a continuing pattern of administrative failure, poor judgment, and conduct inconsistent with the expectations and responsibilities of the position of Police Chief,” Johnson wrote in his recommendation.
Public Reaction and Consequences #
ICE publicly distanced itself from the episode, stating that the visits were not an enforcement action and did not involve federal officers. Baylor, who accompanied Lamanna, told WLWT that he went only as a backup officer and did not speak with school personnel. “I did not insinuate that I have a federal license or that I am there on behalf of any federal agency,” Baylor said. “She handled all the talking.”
Consequences followed quickly at the village level:
- Paid leave â Lamanna and Baylor were placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, and Lamanna remained on leave for nearly a month before the council acted.
- Resignations â Baylor resigned, with his resignation accepted on May 28, and another Gratis officer also resigned following the incident.
- Termination â the Gratis Village Council voted 4-2 on May 28, 2026, to terminate Lamanna as chief.
- 287(g) suspension â following the incident, the village announced it had indefinitely suspended its 287(g) agreement.
The departures left the Gratis Police Department with only five officers.
Current Status #
Lamanna was removed as chief of the Gratis Police Department by the council’s May 28, 2026 vote, and coverage of the termination reported that she was not criminally charged. The village’s 287(g) agreement remains indefinitely suspended according to the most recent reports, and the police department continues operating with the reduced roster of five officers that remained after the resignations.
Impact on Their Career/Life #
The council vote ended Lamanna’s tenure leading the Gratis force after roughly a month on administrative leave, and it did so on a 4-2 margin that showed the village’s own elected leadership split over her removal. Per the personnel-file accounts cited in coverage of her removal, the dismissal was the second of her law enforcement career, following a reported 2020 firing by the Dayton Police Department connected to alleged falsification and untruthfulness. Her name is now permanently attached in news coverage to the disavowed ICE-related school visits and to the collapse of the village’s 287(g) partnership, events that reshaped a department left with five officers.