On July 28, 2023, a 911 call was received at about 1 a.m. to Key West police by a taxi driver who reported that a man was banging on a vehicle, demanding 911 be called. The man was later identified as a vacationing police chief from Ohio, Chief Chad McArdle, chief of Boston Heights PD. The taxi driver called 911. Key West PD appeared.
McArdle, scantily dressed and topless in the streets of Key West at night, told them a story that he had been dragged into a car by 2 unknown men and attacked. During one version of events he told, he claimed he had been stabbed by the men with a stick. During at least one version of his story, he is heard on bodycam claiming it was “3 guys” who attacked him. It is not reported that any stab wounds were found on him, again inconsistent with the story he told.
During the telling of the story, he claimed in one version of his narrative that one guy was attacking him, stabbing him in the chest (pointing at his tattooed chest without visible signs of trauma) and claimed “He was Spanish!” In another statement to police, he was on record of claiming that 2 white men had attacked him instead. He then describes a “white dude with a black beard” as his attacker. Throughout the bodycam recording, he is seen apparently making up story after story quite casually but all stories seemed to end with him stating that he felt he had killed a man.
He then told Key West officers: “Look, I am a cop,” chuckling as he made the comment seen on the screenshot with date/time stamp 2023-07-28 01:21:35 below.
Police could not find any other evidence to support the story but when searching for eyewitnesses, they came upon an unhoused man named Joe Jones who told them that Chief McArdle had randomly walked up to him in the street and kicked him in the back and beat him, attacking him without provocation when he found him in an alley nearby. It is not known whether Key West PD checked him for drugs or alcohol. He was bleary-eyed with scratches and bruises on his face which cannot be explained by the very cavalier and polite arrest. There had been a one-sided assault by McArdle on an unhoused man who reportedly did not fight him. The story of the abductors was debunked by the investigation. The bruises and odd condition McArdle was found in was never explained.
McArdle during arrest is heard on bodycam casually saying: “I murdered a fucking guy!” while a Key West officer takes notes and just replies just as casually “Okay.” He then launched into a story that some men had dragged him into a car, he had fought, picked up a stick and that he is “pretty sure I killed one of them.” On bodycam, he described picking up the stick and very deliberately stabbing the man in the neck with it.
McArdle was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery charge, a bit of an odd charge for a man who had just proclaimed that he felt he had just killed a man. Also unusual is the fact that once McArdle declared that he had killed a man, police did not seem too interested in investigating this nor looking for the possibly deceased man who was somewhere nearby, according to the gesticulating and hand-pointing by McArdle that a man was in an alley somewhere, possibly dead in some nearby direction he pointed toward.
The taxi driver said he found McArdle partially clothed and lying on the sidewalk crying. Police were able to debunk his story but it is not clear what really happened instead of the story McArdle told that was obviously untruthful. McArdle’s demeanor is very oddly relaxed and even cheerful at times while casually claiming he had just killed someone. It is not known whether he was tested for substances or alcohol when found in this odd condition, partially dressed and bleary-eyed, telling police about a homicide he felt he may have committed nearby.
He was arrested and booked into the Monroe County Jail on July 28, 2023 for beating the unhoused man “for no apparent reason” as police reports stated. The unhoused man, identified by police as Joe Jones, was located and interviewed on bodycam.
Joe Jones after the assault
His statements can be found at minute 2:25 here, stating that he had been kicked in the back. He stated that the man had walked up, kicked him hard in his back “out of the blue” and that he did not say anything before launching the brutal attack, then only said “I’m gonna kill you!” during the attack.
The unhoused man died after this and for this reason, a Nolle Prosequi was filed, dropping all charges against McArdle. Police allege that the unhoused man died from unrelated causes after the assault. His name was allegedly Joe Jones. There is no autopsy or other objective evidence supporting the claim that his death came after the assault from other circumstances. All details surrounding Joe Jones and his cause of death at some unknown time after the attack remain shrouded in police secrecy. McArdle himself very clearly told police that he believed he had killed the man. Police checked surveillance videos and none of the stories McArdle had told had occurred in the places where he had claimed the events had taken place.
Joe Jones after the random assault by Chief McArdle
Boston Heights, OH mayor Bill Goncy placed McArdle on paid administrative leave pending the investigation. On November 7, 2023, McArdle was cleared of all charges because Joe Jones, his unhoused victim, had allegedly died. There has been absolutely no transparency from either Key West PD or McArdle’s employer, the City of Boston Heights as to the fate of the unhoused man, particularly his date, time and cause of death other than to assure the public that it was unrelated. He had been on paid administrative leave until he was cleared. The city of Boston Heights posts messages from the PD, ending them in
Chief of Police (330) 650-4111” while omitting to mention the name of the police chief on their website. By all accounts, McArdle remained police chief on administrative leave and beyond.
Move along folks, nothing here to see.
Boston Heights Police Chief Chad McArdle, booking photo in Key West 07/28/2022
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