MARTINS FERRY, Ohio -- Days after a Target 9 Investigation revealed documents detailing pornography found on a computer inside the Martins Ferry Police Department, the lieutenant in charge of the department has been suspended.

Monday, the mayor put Lt. Phil Hartman on paid administrative leave. Officials said an outside agency will investigate allegations against Hartman and if any charges are filed, city officials will re-evaluate the administrative leave. City officials said they had not yet selected which agency will conduct the investigation as of Monday afternoon.

Hartman was put in charge of the department after former Chief Barry Carpenter was sentenced to jail in connection with a celebrity surrogate scandal.

NEWS9 discovered information pertaining to pornography when a reporter reviewed public documents after Carpenter was convicted in the scandal.

Most of the information in the documents was about Carpenter, which came out during court proceedings. However, the transcripts of interviews between state investigators and several Martins Ferry police officers revealed other issues within the department, such as pornography, accusations of time cards being falsified and claims that Hartman asked someone to admit to a crime without knowing whether they committed the act.

In interviews conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation in July, transcripts show Hartman made many admissions.

When an investigator asked Hartman if he knew how pornographic pictures got on Carpenter's computer, Hartman said, "Not all those pictures are mine -- just so you know, just a couple."

The documents also include interviews with other officers who accused Hartman of falsifying timecards by punching into work, then going to the gym to work out.

On Friday, Wallace called a mandatory meeting after learning Hartman called in sick that day.

"We did not hear from him, so I made a choice to place Lt. Hartman on administrative leave until further notice," Wallace said.

The mayor sent a letter notifying Hartman to turn in his badge and gun.

Hartman was made the highest-ranking official in the department after a jury found Carpenter guilty of receiving stolen property, theft in office and tampering with evidence. Carpenter resigned from his position as chief, was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in jail, and is now serving time at the London Correctional Institute.

Prosecutors maintained that Carpenter wanted to sell items and pictures he took when in the surrogate’s home to tabloid photographers. Carpenter is appealing his conviction.

Wallace said while Hartman is now facing serious allegations, it does not mean he's out of the running to be the city's next chief. There are three other candidates for the position, Wallace said.

"The chief testing date will be moved back until further notice until the investigation is done on Lt. Hartman," Wallace said.

Officials said Sgt. John McFarland is in charge of the department as of Monday. McFarland has been with the Police Department for 13 years.

"It's a new day. We hope to move ahead with this. I think all the police officers now are supporting the sergeant in charge," Wallace said.

McFarland said he is taking over during a time of turmoil and wants to rebuild morale.

"Now is definitely probably the lowest point that we've had to deal with so far," McFarland said. "There's an excellent group of officers hired. We're all wanting to move forward and get all of this behind us."

With regard to the loss of manpower, McFarland said part-time officers will fill the holes.

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