Detective Sgt. Garcar to appeal suspension

The suspension began
Monday and ends on
Christmas Eve.

YOUNGSTOWN — A detective sergeant described as “dedicated to her profession” will appeal a 15-day suspension handed down over travel money, a union president says.

Detective Sgt. Patricia Garcar’s suspension began Monday and ends Dec. 24, according to a letter signed by Police Chief Jimmy Hughes and Mayor Jay Williams. Garcar, a 13-year veteran of the department, is assigned to the accident investigation division. The 15 days off are worth roughly $3,350 in wages.

Garcar and Linda DeJoe, a litter control worker, used a city litter van to travel to Detroit to a Weed and Seed conference in August. Each was given $225 to cover the cost of driving their personal vehicles and later returned the money after questions were raised, records show. DeJoe accepted a 15-day suspension last month.

The suspension letter sent to Garcar states that her actions amounted to dishonesty and improper conduct.

“She could have accepted [the suspension] and that would have been the end of it, but her side has to be aired — there’s a lot of inconsistencies she wants to bring forward,” said Capt. Kenneth Centorame, Youngstown Police Ranking Officers president. “The big thing, there was no policy for travel in the Weed and Seed program, how the money was to be received or spent. She’s being made a scapegoat.”

Centorame said Garcar, whom he described as dedicated to her profession and the community, didn’t attend the Weed and Seed meeting prior to the trip where travel expenses were discussed. She had intended to use the money to fly to Detroit, but at the last minute went along as DeJoe’s passenger, he said.

The union president said Garcar had no intention of keeping the $225; she would have returned it at the Weed and Seed meeting Sept. 17. By then, though, the police department’s Internal Affairs Division, based on a tip from a confidential source Aug. 27, had already investigated the travel money.

Rick George, associate director for Youngstown State University’s Center for Human Services Development, has called the situation miscommunication and said that travel policies for future Weed and Seed trips will be developed. He said YSU travel guidelines will be used as a model.

George’s department is fiscal agent for a five-year $875,000 federal Weed and Seed project grant from the U.S. Department of Justice for the North Side. The program targets high-crime areas and strives to improve residents’ quality of life.

Centorame said Garcar is upset with the suspension because it goes to her truth and credibility. He said the union will appeal through the grievance process. The first step is that the mayor’s designee will schedule a hearing.

The designee can affirm the discipline, amend it or disregard it, Centorame said. If the suspension is upheld, the matter will proceed to arbitration.

Centorame said Garcar, through the grievance process, will be able to determine the identity of the confidential source, adding that the tip may have been politically motivated.

“The facts don’t support the conclusions, and the conclusions don’t support the discipline,” Centorame said. “I think there was lack of communication. She had no intention of keeping any money. She’s a fighter, and we have to make this right in the community’s eyes.”