Yet again, Girard police chief is accused of misconduct; it is time for Ross to go

How many times does Girard Police Chief Anthony "Buster" Ross get to embarrass the city he purports to serve? At a time when the police department is undermanned and its remaining officers operating under stress, Ross has become, once again, a distraction.
The latest in a long line of incidents starring Ross is his alleged assault on a city businessman with his unmarked city car and a verbal threat that he would eventually "get" the businessman.
Ross' lawyer characterized the charges as "false and frivolous." If so, Ross will beat the rap -- just as he has so many times before. But at some point, the people of Girard ought to recognize a pattern of dysfunction and proclaim that enough is enough.
Of course, some folks tried that a few years ago, and Ross, who is now 78, played the age card. Ross had a history of doing what he wanted, when he wanted, but when city council tried to bring him to account, he screamed age discrimination.
And it worked. Whimpering about how he was a victim, Ross managed to get away with things that would end a young patrolman's career before the next roll call.
Latest assault accusation
In the latest incident, Ross has been charged with assault and intimidation of Robert E. Suich, owner of the Dairy Queen on South State Street. Suich is pursuing the charges in Girard Municipal Court; an internal investigation by one of Ross' own captains cleared the chief of any wrongdoing. But Capt. Frank Bigowsky refuses to release a two-page statement he took from Ross, even at the request of the judge.
Police departments investigating alleged wrongdoing of their own is bad policy; a captain investigating his own chief is a charade.
The 28 years that Ross has been police chief in Girard have been peppered with embarrassing incidents. In 1975, a Girard businessman accused Ross of assaulting him when he went to city hall to seek copies of ordinances regulating operation of a gameroom. A jury found Ross not guilty. One of his own patrolmen accused him of assault in 1984; he pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct.
In 1989 he refused to attend city council meetings, even at the express request of council. In 1991, when questioned about his work habits, Ross replied that it was no one's business what he does all day, except for the mayor, to whom he reports. Later that year, the police union called Ross a "figurehead" in a scathing report on his performance as chief.
In 1995, when council gave other city employees raises, but not Ross, he raised his first allegation of age discrimination. Later that year he got into an angry confrontation with a councilman.
In 1999 he was charged with driving under the influence and reckless operation after car struck a utility pole. He remained on the payroll even after pleading no contest to the DUI charge and getting a slap on the wrist. A charge of intimidation stemming from threats he allegedly made to a police officer investigating the accident was bound over to the grand jury, which declined to indict him.
The only discipline he faced was a three-day suspension for using a work day to go to Cleveland to meet with his lawyer.
He took seven months off sick in the year 2000 and then tacked his vacation time on to the end of the year.
No excuses
Throughout all of this, Ross has been unapologetic, even defiant.
His shameful record of arrogance has gone on for far too long. Bully-boy tactics, his abuse of privilege, his law breaking, his sense of entitlement (in 1980, while chief, he tried to pay himself overtime for working on a murder case) -- all these things combine to make him unfit for further service.
Ross has complained of late that his department is undermanned and his patrolmen overworked. He would be doing everyone a service if he stepped down now. Not only would he cease to be a distraction within the department, but his salary could cover that of two rookie officers.