CONSTABLE CASE Deputy is put on leave for probe

The deputy's version differs from what city police saw, the major says.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Deputy Dorothy Johnson is on unpaid administrative leave while the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department sorts out her role at a dance with four so-called constables.
First of all, Johnson, an intermittent deputy, had no prior authorization to work the East Side dance last week as a side job, Sheriff Randall A. Wellington said Monday. The sheriff said he must approve such secondary employment, and deputies must log in with the record room so that supervisors know where they are.
The sheriff's department also requires that deputies working side jobs be paid a minimum of $17.50 per hour. Johnson said she provided the security as a favor, which is another violation of departmental rules, the sheriff added.
Wellington said Johnson, 36, has been with the department less than a year. The sheriff said he would have denied permission for Johnson to work the Thanksgiving Eve dance at Early Morning Hall on Stewart Street had she made the request.
Quotable
Maj. Michael Budd said the sheriff's department "can't have a deputy standing around not enforcing the law." He said Johnson, during an interview Monday, acknowledged that two men and two women dressed as constables and wearing constable badges around their necks also were at the dance.
Since constables have no jurisdiction in the city, Johnson should have enforced the law, Budd said. "If we find constables working, we need to report that," he said.
A woman who leases the property where the dance was held told police that she had contacted La-Roi Dock to provide security. Dock operates Ohio State Police Constable Services on Logan Avenue, which does not have the authority to appoint police officers or constables, officials have said.
Differing versions
Budd said he questions Johnson's version of what happened because it differs from one given by city police. Johnson says the four dressed as constables weren't wearing guns on their equipment belts.
Six city police cruisers were sent to the hall to restore order when a fight broke out in the middle of a crowd estimated at 300. Upon arrival, officers saw four constables wearing firearms on their utility belts, reports show.
"We're looking at discrepancies in [Johnson's] report," Budd said. "Her information would be relevant in a prosecution."
After dispersing the angry crowd, city police turned their attention back to the so-called constables, who had removed and hid their equipment belts, reports show.
Police identified those dressed in constable gear at the dance as Curtis M. Bryant, 59, of St. Louis Avenue; Carol J. Dubose, 60, of Glenaven Avenue; Ethel M. Smith, 51, of Mistletoe Avenue; and Larry Ingram, 42, of Gluck Street. No charges were filed.
The matter remains under investigation, Lt. Robin Lees, police department information officer, said Monday.
City Prosecutor Dionne M. Almasy could not be reached.
Bryant has been convicted of providing security without a license and has a charge of impersonating a police officer pending. Dubose and Smith have been convicted of impersonating a police officer.
Bryant, Dubose and Smith are all on one-year's probation to Municipal Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly. The judge, when she gave them suspended jail sentences last month, warned them all to quit dressing like police officers.
meade@vindy.com