WARREN Police chief questions funds used for gun deal

The chief says the inquiry 'has little to do' with the Urban League director.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Police Chief John Mandopoulos has opened an inquiry into a community organization that has been a frequent critic of his behavior and his department's policies.
The chief says he wants to know why Community Development Block Grant money was used to buy three guns for Warren-Trumbull Urban League scholarship recipients to use for the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy.
"The chief took it upon himself to do this, and isn't it funny that he has told the newspaper on prior occasions that he thinks someone should look at the Urban League," said Fred Harris, the city's safety-service director. "Tom [Conley] has been outspoken about his views that there needs to be a new chief."
Conley is director of the Warren-Trumbull Urban League and a member of the Warren Coalition, a group that has been critical of the chief's behavior outside a local black nightclub and his failure to discipline officers.
The chief, however, says the inquiry "has little to do with Conley."
Held accountable
The guns were purchased about three years ago. The chief said his department now has all of the guns. He noted that two of the guns were kept at the community development building and his department just received them a few months ago.
"I am not against the program," Mandopoulos said. "It's an inquiry. We want to make sure we have all of the guns. First they said that there were three, but now we have four. These weapons have to be accounted for because what if someone breaks into the house of one of these students and uses the gun in the commission of a homicide? There are safety issues here."
The chief added that if the department would have been asked, it could have lent a gun to each of the students to be used during the training.
He said that as far as he knows, background checks of the students were not done and that they all failed the police academy.
"The first two students finished the program and passed," Conley said. "I think the police chief is doing this because he thinks he is going to cause aggravation, but he's not. If he truly feels this is inquiry, as he calls it, is not a waste of taxpayers money, then let him to do it."
Victim's evidence
Mayor Hank Angelo says he doesn't understand why the chief is concerned about something that happened three years ago instead of finding out why property in the city's evidence was given to someone other than the victim.
"The city law department had to pay a victim $200 because her property that was stolen and kept in our evidence room was given to the wrong party," Angelo said.
Greg Hicks, city law director, said some of the victim's items were returned to the wrong person, so his office worked out a settlement with the victim.
"I have asked the internal affairs officers to give me the status of that investigation, but I haven't received that yet," Angelo said.
The mayor and Harris recently recommended that Mandopoulos receive a 10-day suspension. He has appealed that decision to the city's civil service commission. The commission is expected to release its decision later this month.
sinkovich@vindy.com