WARREN Police will get more training

The chief said in some cases he found citizens' complaints were justified.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The city's police chief is instituting mandatory training in light of the skyrocketing number of complaints filed against his officers last year.
In 2003, the department registered 59 complaints, compared with 26 filed in 2002 and 27 filed in 2001.
"I would like to reduce the amount of complaints, so I am going to make sure that every officer, including myself, goes through 40 hours of in-service training," said Police Chief John Mandopoulos. "I want every officer trained on the new laws, communication skills and diversity training."
The community should also be instructed on how to act if stopped by a police officer, such as being polite and staying calm, the chief said.
The chief noted that some of the 59 complaints were unfounded but that others were sustained, meaning he found the person's complaint was justified.
Officials' reactions
Mayor Michael J. O'Brien and Doug Franklin, safety-service director, concurred with the chief's decision and said the training will help improve the community's perception of the police department.
"I am committed to improving the police department's relationship with the public, and the training is a move in the right direction," O'Brien said.
During 2003, the department received local and national press concerning some of the complaints that dealt with allegations of excessive force and possibly illegal strip-searches.
Since July, federal lawsuits have been filed by residents who contend they were wrongfully strip-searched by police. One of those lawsuits has been settled but the details have not yet been released.
"I'm glad the new administration is making strides at changing the perception of the police department. However, I believe accountability still needs to happen," said Tom Conley, president of the Warren-Trumbull Urban League. "There is no excuse for the strip-searches. Police officers are trained on strip-searches when they go the police academy. I think the officers were breaking the law and I still believe the U.S. Justice Department should come and look at this."
Conley has asked the Justice Department officials to investigate the department but has not received a response.
Encouraged to file
Mandopoulos said he thinks one of the reasons the department received so many complaints was because Conley was encouraging people to file them.
"It's true that I did that but I was responding to what the community was saying," Conley said. "I wasn't making the complaints, people would call me with complaints of excessive force or the strip-search issues. I told these people to file the complaints."
The police department and the city law department are investigating if police violated the law when people who were arrested on traffic charges were strip-searched.
Because some of the lawsuits are pending, the law department has advised the administration not to discipline any officers, said Greg Hicks, city law director.
Ohio law states that conducting an illegal strip-search is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Performing a strip-search without filling out a report is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, punishable by 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.
Restrictions in place
Trumbull County prosecutors say strip-searches should be done only in certain cases, and a list of procedures -- including, in many cases, getting a search warrant -- must be followed.
The chief said he took immediate action as soon as a citizen complained about being strip-searched after being stopped for a traffic violation.
"A new policy was put into effect and I told officers that no more strip-searches would be done," the chief said. "Some of the officers were not happy; they wanted to know how they can find illegal drugs if they can't do the strip-searches."
sinkovich@vindy.com