YOUNGSTOWN Judge denies request for court order

The magistrate said there was no proof that anyone did anything wrong.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A city woman's request for a court order to keep three people, including a Youngstown policeman, away from her was denied Monday.
Lakeisha M. Ross had sought the order against Patrolman Bill Bailey and two of her neighbors. But after a hearing Monday, magistrate Robert Bannon of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court ruled there was no evidence to back up her claims.
He dismissed the complaint against Bailey, saying any action the officer might have taken was in his official capacity and protected under the law. There was no proof that Bailey did anything improper, Bannon said.
"There was no merit to this complaint," said Lt. Robin Lees, police department spokesman. "The court realized that, and that's the reason for the outcome."
Lees said Ross' attempt to have a civil protection order issued against the officer is one of the hazards police face doing their job.
"Anyone can file a complaint or civil action," Lees said. "We rely on the courts to see through the smoke of these actions."
Bannon did not dismiss the complaint against the neighbors, but declined to issue a protection order against them.
Ross said at the hearing that her neighbors have harassed and badgered her, called her names, tried to fight with her and have thrown eggs at her apartment. The women denied the claims. Ross sought a protection order against Bailey because he did not seem to want to listen to her when she called to complain about the neighbors, she said.
Lees said Ross' complaint is obviously in response to her arrest last July. Neighbors called police when Ross' 5-year-old daughter was seen wandering in the street near her Steel Street apartment. Bailey and another city patrolman investigated and took statements from several neighbors.
Ross was cited into Youngstown Municipal Court and found guilty of child endangering. She is to be sentenced this week.
bjackson@vindy.com