TRAFFIC CASE Judge dismisses ticket; prosecutors plan to refile

A new hearing date has not yet been set.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A traffic ticket thrown out of court should stay out of court, a defense attorney says.
Prosecutors, however, say they plan to refile the minor misdemeanor charge of failing to stop at a red light against Willie Summerlin on Dec. 30.
"This is putting injustice on top of injustice," said Atty. Gil Rucker, who represents Summerlin. "Mr. Summerlin has filed a federal lawsuit due to his treatment during that stop. The judge has dismissed the ticket so I don't understand why the city wants to persecute Mr. Summerlin."
Judge Thomas Gysegem of municipal court says he dismissed the ticket because neither the prosecutor nor the police officers who gave the ticket to Summerlin, of Second Street, were in court during last month's hearing.
"This judge had a policy on minor traffic citations, and that policy is when officers and prosecutors don't show, I dismiss the charge," Judge Gysegem said.
Prosecutor's argument
Traci Timko-Rose, an assistant city prosecutor, said she was not in court on that day because the hearing was scheduled only to set a trial date.
"We had rescheduled it twice previously because Atty. Rucker was unable to make it," Timko-Rose said.
Law Director Greg Hicks said his office doesn't take any case lightly and believes this one should be decided on its merits.
"The officers found it important enough to charge Mr. Summerlin so it should be important enough to be heard and not be dismissed by a judge who is having a bad day," Hicks said.
The judge, however, stressed his decision was not based on his mood.
"I didn't have a bad day," Judge Gysegem said. "I was there."
A new hearing date has not yet been set.
Lawsuit
Summerlin filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Youngstown in March against the city, Police Chief John Mandopoulos and patrol officers Joseph Kistler and Ed Hetmanski.
The suit states Hetmanski and Kistler violated Summerlin's constitutional rights during the traffic stop.
The search was done in front of the home of Summerlin's friend on Iowa Street and was videotaped by his friend's grandchildren. Summerlin said officers grabbed his crotch area and went through his pockets.
Hetmanski and Kistler were taken off the streets in March after an internal investigation concluded they were performing unwarranted searches on people stopped for traffic violations.
A review of the videotape from the cruiser, which also includes sound, 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