TRUMBULL COUNTY Warren officer in video case will appeal 3-day suspension

The officer did nothing to merit a suspension, his attorney says.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A city police officer caught on videotape last year using a racial slur will appeal his three-day suspension.
Police Chief John Mandopoulos recently suspended Patrol Officer Manny Nites without pay. Nites' lawyer, Randall Weltman, said: "I don't believe he did anything that warrants a penalty." Nites could not be reached.
Once the suspension is appealed, safety-service director Doug Franklin will have a hearing to decide if the suspension should be upheld.
If Franklin agrees with the chief's decision, Nites can appeal to an arbitrator.
Mandopoulos said in September that he had filed an administrative charge against Nites and had a hearing. He said the charge was for using an improper word.
For the past year, Tom Conley, president and CEO of the Warren-Trumbull Urban League, has been asking officials to discipline Nites.
Conley has said he believes Nites should be disciplined for his behavior and for statements he made on a videotape while in the parking lot of now-closed nightclub 77 Soul.
The tape was made May 24, 2003, by Charlie Adams, a friend of LaShawn Ziegler's. Ziegler operated the nightclub. Adams was videotaping in the club parking lot.
The chief and Nites were seen on the videotape sticking their eyes into the camera lens. The chief has maintained that he and Nites were just joking with Adams, but Adams has contended he felt threatened.
Nites can be heard on the tape using a racial slur and calling the cameraman a snitch.
Suspension
In December, the chief received a 10-day suspension on administrative charges stemming from his actions at the club and allegations that he told a television reporter that he would give addresses of local journalists to drug dealers.
The chief has denied the allegations. As long as he attends training seminars, he will not have to serve the suspension, the city's civil service commission ruled.
sinkovich@vindy.com