YOUNGSTOWN Ex-youth worker arrested in assault

The sheriff fired the corporal after a hearing concluded he violated 16 departmental rules.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Davanzo Tate's wayward punch landed on a worker from Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center instead of the 16-year-old boy who threatened to spit on him, police say.
The Mahoning County Sheriff's Department had expected to arrest Tate today at Youngstown Youth Academy, a halfway facility for juveniles at 528 W. Indianola Ave. Tate, 45, of Austintown, is no longer youth services director there, Maj. Michael Budd learned this morning. Tate, who faces an assault charge issued by the city prosecutor's office, was arrested at his home about 9:30 a.m., Budd said.
What's behind this: The arrest stems from a March 4 confrontation Tate is alleged to have had with two Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center workers. They arrived at YYA to pick up a 16-year-old boy who had violated conditions of his parole by not successfully completing the program offered at YYA.
The boy had been led by YYA staff to believe that he would be released to his mother and when he realized the detention workers had come to arrest him, he became upset. He threw a soft drink can against a wall and began swearing and crying.
Tate, involved in the arrest, told the boy to "stop crying like a baby," reports show. Tate is also accused of swearing at the boy and calling him names.
Reports show the boy, who was handcuffed and shackled, later admitted that his anger caused him to lash out and threaten Tate. The teen-ager then made a sound like he was going to spit. The juvenile detention worker said Tate drew back a closed fist and swung at the boy, missed, and hit her instead. Reports show she used a bag of ice to treat the injury to her swollen mouth and nose.
What was a problem: Initially, an official at YYA would not give Franklin County Children Services information that would assist it in identifying and locating Tate, according to a letter the agency wrote two weeks ago to Mahoning County Children Services.
Once the information was provided, the juvenile detention worker pursued the criminal charge, Budd said.
Tate's explanation that he tried to block the boy's spit is disputed by where the detention worker stood when she was hit, according to Detective Sam Oliver. Tate had been in front of and to the side of the woman, Oliver said in his report.
The woman said she now suffers from constant headaches as a result of the punch.
Another matter: Tate made news a year ago when, as a sheriff's department corporal, he held city Patrolman Dan Mikus against his will and menaced him at the county jail, authorities said.
Sheriff Randall A. Wellington fired Tate in June after a hearing officer concluded he had violated 16 departmental rules.
An internal affairs investigation revealed, among other things, that Tate used vulgar and profane language, displayed unbecoming conduct, threatened Mikus and tried to damage the patrolman's reputation.
Tate appealed his firing and an arbitrator's ruling is expected soon, Budd said.