POLICE DEPARTMENT Search suit settled for cash

The amount of the settlement has not been released.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A man who said he was subjected to an unreasonable search by police officers has settled out of court.
Willie Summerlin and his attorney, Gil Rucker, accepted a settlement Tuesday afternoon.
The amount of the settlement has not been released.
Law Director Greg Hicks declined to comment.
"Mr. Summerlin is glad he reached a settlement," Rucker said. "We hope that the city has profited from the courageous stand taken by Mr. Summerlin. Hopefully, this will not happen to anyone else again."
Summerlin, of Second Street, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Youngstown against the city of Warren, Police Chief John Mandopoulos and patrol officers Joseph Kistler and Edward Hetmanski.
The suit states Hetmanski and Kistler violated Summerlin's constitutional rights during a traffic stop Dec. 30.
Summerlin has said he was humiliated when Hetmanski searched him and grabbed his crotch area. The search was done in front of his friend's home on Iowa Street and was videotaped by his friend's grandchildren.
What happened
Summerlin was stopped because officers said he went through a red light, reports state.
The chief found Kistler and Hetmanski guilty of conducting an unreasonable search on Summerlin.
Hetmanski and Kistler each received five days' unpaid suspension. The discipline will be temporarily suspended until the officers exhaust their appeal rights.
The officers were taken off the streets in January after an internal affairs investigation concluded they were performing unwarranted searches on people stopped for traffic violations.
A review of the videotape from the cruiser, which also contains audio, shows officers searching Summerlin and his vehicle. When officers returned to the cruiser, they can be heard arguing with Summerlin. The tape was shut off during the conversation between Summerlin and the officers.
sinkovich@vindy.com