Outside agency should probe claims of illegal cop searches

As a general rule, police officers should not investigate allegations of wrongdoing within their own departments. As a specific rule, the Warren Police Department should definitely not be involved in any probe in which members of the force are the targets. Why single out Warren? Because of Chief John Mandopoulos.
Mandopoulos' utter contempt for citizens who complain about police misbehavior and his own unprofessional conduct outside a city nightclub -- there's a videotape of his performance -- lead us to believe that he has lost all credibility when it comes to exposing problems within his department. This is especially true when the allegations involve police strip-searches of suspects in police custody.
Several months ago, the chief exonerated Patrolmen Tim Parana and Robert Trimble, who were identified by an internal affairs investigator as violating state and department policy relating to strip-searches. That prompted Safety-Service Director Fred Harris to publicly disagree with Mandopoulos' handling of the complaint by a city resident who said he had been subjected to a body-cavity search after being arrested on traffic charges.
Harris and Mayor Hank Angelo ordered the investigation to be reopened.
And yet last week, city Law Director Greg Hicks revealed that the police department was conducting a criminal investigation, in conjunction with his office, into strip-search allegations. Hicks declined to say who was being investigated.
Public housing patrols
An internal investigation report states that some city police officers assigned to patrol the Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority routinely conducted strip-searches on suspects taken to the police station. The author of the report, Lt. Joseph Marhulik, the same officer who identified Parana and Trimble as having violated state and department policy on such searches. Remember, they were given a pass by Mandopoulos.
Against that backdrop, Hicks should have asked an outside law enforcement agency, such as the State Highway Patrol or the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, to conduct the criminal probe.
It isn't too late for him, the mayor and the safety-service director to do just that. It doesn't matter that the investigation has already begun. The Warren Police Department's involvement must cease immediately.
It's a no-win situation for the city. If the department's investigation results in charges being filed against officers, the reaction from members of the force would be that the chief was on a witch hunt because of all the public criticism he has faced. If, on the other hand, the probe fiound no wrongdoing, the public would assume a cover-up.
An independent investigation would give the police department credibility it desperately needs.