Internal investigation targets political actions of city officers

YOUNGSTOWN -- The police department's Internal Affairs Division has launched an investigation based on a complaint that alleges some police officers were involved in a prohibited political activity.
Captain Martin F. Kane, head of IAD, said Tuesday that the complaint is contained in an anonymous letter he received this week. He declined to identify the nature of the allegation or any officers named in the complaint.
Kane did say that the complaint refers to last month's general election.
The prohibited political activity is purported to involve a few officers who were seen passing out a mayoral candidate's literature at a polling place on Election Day on Nov. 8, sources told The Vindicator.
The Vindicator obtained a copy of a memo Chief Robert E. Bush Jr. sent out Nov. 14 that says it had come to his attention that some officers may have been in violation of the Ohio Administrative Code that governs permissible and prohibited political activity for city employees. The penalty for engaging in political activities can be termination, according to the memo.
The chief attached a copy of the code section for all employees to review. The memo does not make any specific allegations.
Bush referred questions to Kane.