BOARDMAN POLICE Lawsuit in death of driver settled

The case settled just before testimony was to begin.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A lawsuit against Boardman Township and one of its police officers was settled just before it went to trial.
The estate of Steven Memmer will receive $500,000 from the insurance company that covers Boardman Township and its police department.
Atty. Angela J. Mikulka, who represented Memmer's estate, said it will be up to Mahoning County Probate Court to determine how the money will be allocated.
Memmer's estate sued the township and Patrolman Jack Cochran in 2001 over a traffic accident in which Memmer was killed. The case was set for trial Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Lawyers had picked a jury and were ready to begin calling witnesses when they told Judge Maureen A. Cronin they had agreed on the out-of-court settlement.
"This has always been a case about Boardman and the officer accepting responsibility for the death of this 21-year-old man," Mikulka said. "We have uncovered the truth of the matter."
What happened
Memmer, of Boardman, was killed Feb. 1, 2001, when his car was hit broadside by a police car driven by Cochran, who was en route to a burglary call on Glenridge Avenue. Memmer was on his way home from work.
Memmer turned his car into the driveway of his apartment on Southern Boulevard as Cochran was passing him from behind.
Investigators from the Ohio State Highway Patrol estimated Cochran was driving about 76 mph at the time of the collision. The suit said Cochran acted recklessly in driving more than twice the posted speed limit.
"You just can't drive a cruiser that fast because you are going to hurt the public in the process," Mikulka said, noting that the settlement of the case is bittersweet.
Township Administrator Curt B. Seditz said the township's safety forces don't drive recklessly and that what happened was an accident.
"They don't just speed around like they are in a video game," Seditz said. "They are professionals and they save people's lives."
A Mahoning County grand jury cleared Cochran of any criminal wrongdoing in February 2001. The civil suit was filed in March 2001 by Memmer's family.
The suit also said the township's policy on police pursuits and responses was flawed because it fails to establish rules of safe operation of motor vehicles and fails to properly train officers.
bjackson@vindy.com