County upholds firing of Howland cop

County upholds firing of Howland cop

WARREN — A common pleas court judge has upheld the firing of a former Howland Township police officer for the way he handled a parking complaint at a Forest Hill Drive dentist’s house last year.

Judge Andrew D. Logan ruled this week that Howland trustees acted properly when they fired Jeffrey A. Zelinsky of North Road Northeast on Oct. 30.

Zelinsky appealed the firing, saying the decision was unconstitutional and unreasonable.

But in a judgment entry filed Wednesday, the judge ruled the trustees’ decision to fire Zelinsky was supported by substantial and reliable evidence.

Zelinsky was fired after a Sept. 9, 2006, incident in which he went to the home of Dr. George Ralph to investigate an illegal parking complaint.

That day, Dr. Ralph was holding a clam bake. About 25 people remained at the house when Zelinsky arrived at the front door.

When Zelinsky arrived, he talked to Dr. Ralph’s daughter, Kimberly, about the problem. Dr. Ralph interrupted the conversation by speaking to the girl, at which point Zelinsky told Dr. Ralph he was interfering with official business, crossed the threshold of the residence and grabbed Dr. Ralph by the shoulder.

At a hearing later, Dr. Ralph said he went to the front door to talk to his daughter about the location of some clams. He testified that he didn’t know it was a police officer at the door because he and the officer were on opposite sides of the closed portion of a double door.

A struggled ensued, and Dr. Ralph was injured, arrested and charged with several crimes. The charges were later dropped in Warren Municipal Court.

After an internal investigation, Zelinsky was fired for incompetence, misconduct in office, and violating the civil rights of Dr. Ralph.

For the complete story, see Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.