WARREN Probe expands, delaying charges

With the filing of administrative charges, a time limit kicks in.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Administrative charges against two police officers accused of strip-searching a man are being held up because the case has been reopened.
Mayor Hank Angelo said other officers have come forward with additional information and the internal affairs investigation is being reopened.
He didn't specify what kind of additional information has been provided.
"It will be investigated and other officers could be involved," the mayor said.
Dominic D. Gambone, 25, who lived on South Project S.E., filed a complaint with police in March saying officers Tim Parana and Robert Trimble performed a body-cavity search of him while he was in a police station holding cell.
Gambone had been arrested in February 2002 on charges of driving under suspension and driving slow. Those charges later were dismissed.
An internal affairs investigation of the complaint concluded that the officers' actions were against department policy and the law, but Chief John Mandopoulos declined to take action against them.
What happened
Fred Harris, safety-service director, overruled the chief's decision and ordered him to give it more consideration.
Administrative charges against the two officers were expected to be filed last week.
That decision changed with the additional information.
Once administrative charges are filed, the time line established by police department contract kicks in, starting with giving the chief 10 days to schedule a predisciplinary hearing, the mayor said.
By holding up on the charges, the expanded investigation can proceed without strict time limits.
The administration isn't dragging its feet, but it wants to be fair to both the people who filed complaints and the officers involved, the mayor said.
denise.dick@vindy.com