TRUMBULL COUNTY Officials back cops in arrest of family

The mother has pleaded innocent to the charges.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Though a mother and her three teenage children say they were wrongfully arrested, the police chief and a councilman say they think police acted correctly.
Tarra Brown, 34, of Atlantic Street, and her children, Regis, 14, Donald, 16, and Canchata Allgood, 15, were all arrested on misdemeanor charges after a disturbance Tuesday afternoon that started on Mercer Place.
Brown pleaded innocent Wednesday in municipal court to charges of assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Regis faces charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of official business; Donald faces charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest; and Canchata faces charges of assault of a police officer and resisting arrest.
The three teenagers are scheduled to appear in juvenile court next week.
"There was no reason for this arrest," said Atty. Gilbert Rucker, who represents the family. "This was an overzealous exercise of police authority. It was absolutely unjustified."
Police Chief John Mandopoulos, however, defended the officers. He said they were patrolling the neighborhood on bikes in an attempt to help elderly residents feel safer.
Councilman Bob Dean, D-at large, said he was at the police station Tuesday afternoon and believe officers handled the situation well.
"I was not at the scene, but everything I heard, the officers did what they should do," Dean said.
What report says
Patrol Officers Doug Hipple and Nick Carney were on bike patrol around 4:24 p.m. Tuesday when a juvenile yelled profanities at officers, Carney's report says.
The officers asked the juvenile his name, but he refused to reply and continued to use vulgar language, the report states. Police then arrested the juvenile, identified as Regis, and charged him with disorderly conduct and obstructing official business.
"In this country, you cannot arrest someone for saying something vulgar," Rucker said. "Police officers are expected to have tougher skins."
Regis also denies the police allegations. He said he did not use any vulgar language.
"I just wanted to get to basketball practice," the 6-foot-2-inch freshman student at Warren G. Harding High School said.
The police chief said that after Regis' arrest, other juveniles sent a vicious dog after officers. Regis' brother, sister and mother also began fighting with officers, police said.
"I was just trying to find out what happened to my son," Brown said. She noted that she was put on the ground and sprayed with a chemical repellant.
Shown on videotape
The videotape from Patrol Officer Brian Crites' cruiser shows him placing Brown into the car. Brown is heard telling officers she just wanted to tell her kids to stop and that she was trying to get her daughter off another officer.
Brown also was begging officers to get her something for her face because her eyes were burning and she was having trouble breathing.
Crites can be heard telling Brown that he is getting her to the jail as fast as possible.
Canchata also said the officers sprayed her and then ordered her to take her shirts off. The cruiser that transported Canchata to the juvenile justice center was not equipped with a video recorder.
Brown says she plans to file a complaint with the department's internal affair's department soon.
Mayor Michael O'Brien and Doug Franklin, safety-service director, say they also are concerned about the allegations.
"I received a call about this, and I went down to the jail to check this out," Franklin said.
sinkovich@vindy.com