Chief mulls taking letter to lawyer

The chief wants the letter to be removed from his personnel file.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Police Chief Bruce Simeone says he may take legal action because the Niles Civil Service Commission has decided not to hear his appeal of a verbal reprimand.
"There has to be a check-and-balance system," Simeone said Tuesday after hearing of the commission's ruling.
Simeone said he finds himself in a Catch 22 situation.
The commission doesn't consider appeals of reprimands against police chiefs because of state law.
If Simeone were a member of the police union, he could appeal, said Law Director J. Terrence Dull. The chief, however, is exempted from union membership.
Simeone said he will be contacting his attorney to determine what he can do next to get the letter notifying him of the verbal reprimand removed from his personnel file.
Last month, Simeone and police Capt. Charles McFalls received the reprimands from Safety Director Maurice Guarino.
Guarino wanted a report on an ongoing probe of electronic gaming machines that the chief says are illegal. The machines had been showing up in local taverns.
Simeone and McFalls refused to turn the report over to Guarino, arguing that only law enforcement officers can view a report of an incomplete investigation.
Simeone subsequently removed the notice of the reprimand from McFalls' personnel record maintained at the police department.
He has no authority, however, to remove it from the files maintained by the mayor's office. The letter remains in McFalls' file in the mayor's office.
What happened
Meanwhile, Simeone filed an appeal with the civil service to have the letter removed from his personnel file.
The request was denied, the commission said in its letter to the chief, because it doesn't have sufficient jurisdiction.
Dull, who also represents the commission, said that state law addresses appeals for suspension, removal and demotion of a chief of police but doesn't address reprimands.
He explained that if Simeone were a member of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the union that represents Niles police, the chief could use the union grievance procedure to appeal. The process outlined in the union contract doesn't include going through the civil service commission.
yovich@vindy.com