WARREN Judge restrains police promotion

City officials said 10 sergeants took the exam and six failed.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A judge has blocked a police department promotion for now.
Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday and set a hearing for March 28.
Six city police sergeants want a second chance to take a promotional exam.
They filed a lawsuit Tuesday, asking the court to order the city civil service commission to give a new exam. They also requested a restraining order to keep the commission from going forward with the promotion.
Plaintiffs: The plaintiffs are Sgts. Robert M. Massucci, John Delbene, Albert Bansky, Martin Gargas, Joseph O'Grady and John Burzynski.
The lawsuit states that the candidates were told Dec. 20 that the lieutenant promotional exam would be conducted Feb. 6.
The candidates who decided to take the test were given a list of reference materials, which they were told they should read before taking the exam, the lawsuit states -- among them, "Management and Supervision in Law Enforcement," third edition.
Questions on the test were taken from the second edition of that book, the lawsuit states.
The suit notes that at least 11 questions on the test were not covered in the third edition.
City officials said 10 sergeants took the exam, which consists of 125 multiple choice questions.
Six failed. Officials declined to identify them.
"Two of the top scorers on the promotional examination did study the second edition," the lawsuit states. "By instructing officers to study the wrong materials, the civil service commission denied the plaintiffs time to study the materials that actually were used, and skewed the test in favor of those unwilling to invest in purchasing the latest reference materials."
Mayor Hank Angelo could not be reached to comment. Fred Harris, safety-service director, declined to discuss specifics of the case.
He noted the mayor appoints the members of the commission but has no jurisdiction over the civil service matters.
"This is between the civil service board and the police force," Harris said.
sinkovich@vindy.com