ROSS TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Ross Township's police chief announced that he's retiring, citing ongoing health issues.
Chief Darryl J. Haussler plans to officially retire as of Sept. 1, he wrote in a letter to the Ross community Friday.
Haussler has been dealing with an incurable autoimmune disease called scleroderma. He has relied on dialysis treatments since he was diagnosed in 2016 and received a donated kidney from a family in friend in October.
The disease causes swelling and hardening of skin, but also can affect a patient's kidneys, lungs and heart.
Due to the "unpredictability" of his health, Haussler wrote that he realized it's unlikely that he would have been able to return to the full-time police chief job.
Before becoming the Ross Township police chief, Haussler worked for the Delhi and Colerain departments. During his five-plus years in Ross, Haussler wrote that he tried "to develop a police department that the Ross community can finally be proud of."
He thanked the department's officers for serving the community.
"The real value of the department ... rests with the men and women who sacrifice and give so much each and every day to the Ross community," he wrote.
Haussler also thanked township leaders and residents for giving him the opportunity to lead the department.
"The Ross community is filled with caring and genuine people," he wrote. "The impact these last five years has had on me and my family will never be forgotten."
