HOMICIDE CASE Notice puts Niles chief, officer on paid leave

The investigation could last until September, an assistant prosecutor said.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
and NICOLE HUGHES
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Two longtime members of the Niles Police Department are on paid administrative leave for their involvement in a shooting Wednesday morning.
Chief Bruce Simeone and Officer Chris Mannella were served official notice Thursday afternoon and will remain on leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Trumbull County prosecutor's office and the Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation, as well as psychological evaluations.
Simeone and Mannella were the officers who fired their service weapons at James Fambro-Wade, 43, of Warren, in front of a Wood Street home. Police allege Fambro-Wade is the man who shot and killed his former girlfriend, 21-year-old Erica Mechling, just minutes before police arrived at the scene.
In a taped 911 call, Mannella is heard telling the dispatcher that Fambro-Wade was running toward Simeone, and shortly after that he's heard saying, "We have shots fired."
Capt. Charles Wilson, who took over as acting chief in Simeone's absence, said police are still unclear who fired first and whether Fambro-Wade fired at police.
Fambro-Wade died of his gunshot injuries Wednesday afternoon at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Handling investigation
Wilson said an internal investigation will be handled by Officer Rick Wilson and Capt. Guy Simeone -- no relation to the chief -- but added most of the case has been turned over to the prosecutor's office and BCI.
"The investigation starts with our department," he said. "But this part is done by the other departments."
Bob Beasley, a spokesman with the Ohio Attorney General's Office, confirmed that BCI is investigating the shooting involving the police officers, as well as the initial shooting involving Mechling. He declined to comment further.
Dave Toepfer, an assistant county prosecutor, said the investigation into the officers' actions is standard in cases when such a shooting results in injury or death.
"It doesn't mean what the officers did was necessarily wrong, though," he said.
Capt. Simeone said the department operates according to state and federal laws.
"The use-of-force guidelines are set by [U.S.] Supreme Court decisions," he said. "When a person who has committed a violent felony is armed and a danger to people -- even if they aren't directly a threat -- it is our duty to stop them."
If an officer believes that someone is trying to take the officer's life, the use of deadly force is acceptable, Capt. Simeone added.
He said that after the shooting, both officers' guns and the gun Fambro-Wade had were taken into evidence and handed over to BCI.
"When an officer is involved, we immediately take the guns and tag them as evidence," he said.
Department policy
Wilson said department policy is to put any officer involved in a shooting on paid administrative leave to ensure the officers' actions were justified. The two must also be cleared by a mental health professional before they will be allowed to return to work.
Toepfer said his office and BCI will interview witnesses and evaluate evidence collected at the scene as part of their investigation. He added it was difficult to tell how long the investigation will take, and he could not speculate on whether the case involving the officers may be presented to the grand jury.
"Every case is obviously different," he said. "But I think we could have everything wrapped up by September at the latest."
Chief Simeone has been with the Niles Police Department for almost 35 years, and Mannella has served for more than 20 years.
slshaulis@vindy.comnhughes@vindy.com