Showdown time in Warren

It's been a while since Warren Mayor Hank Angelo and Police Chief John Mandopoulos have had a chance to sit down and talk. First Angelo was on vacation, and then Mandopoulos.
But tomorrow, everybody will be back to work, and it will be time for the mayor to direct some tough questions to Mandopoulos, and time for the chief to give some straight answers.
While Angelo was gone two weeks ago, a videotape surfaced showing Mandopoulos and one of his officers mugging in front of a camera at 77 Soul, a Youngstown Road SE. night club that caters to a black audience. Unlike a tape that got earlier local and national attention for the way officers were manhandling a suspect after a traffic stop, there was no violence on this footage.
Troubling image
But in many ways, this tape was even more troubling because it appears to show the chief of police setting a horrid example of unprofessional conduct for his officers. And it is especially troubling because the chief has every reason to know that his department's relationship with the city's minority community is a matter of serious concern.
Given that, there appears to be no good reason why the chief would behave in a manner that can only be described as demeaning, and could be viewed as provocative.
Mandopoulos has defended his on-camera antics . "We were all just being friendly and silly, but if they don't want that then we will go there and follow the letter of the law," the chief said.
If there are issues of public safety or nuisance to be investigated, police should respond.
But we doubt that any law enforcement manual suggests that officers clown around when responding to complaints. Such behavior does not engender respect for police officers or the department, and treating citizens in a demeaning way is more likely to inflame a situation than calm it.
The tape would indicate that Mandopoulos still doesn't appreciate the serious nature of the relationship that exists between the police department and Warren's citizens. It's time for a change in attitude or personnel.