YPD probe focuses on early exits

Three police reports, including a stabbing, are being reviewed.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Concern that the South Side was without adequate police coverage in the early hours of June 14 is at the heart of a Youngstown Police Department internal investigation.

At issue is whether as many as four police officers took part in unauthorized early exits. The investigation focuses on two pairs of patrol partners assigned to the South Side during the overnight shift spanning June 13 and June 14.

In that time frame, three incidents on the South Side — a break-in, a stabbing and a hit-skip vehicle accident — had to be handled by officers assigned to other parts of the city.

The matter went unreported to top administrators until last Tuesday when The Vindicator filed a public records request seeking documents, audio CDs and video DVDs that show the early morning shift changes June 14. A copy of that request went to Police Chief Jimmy Hughes that day.

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Chief Jimmy Hughes.

One ranking officer familiar with the investigation said the incident put the community at risk and jeopardized remaining officers in one-man cars in the event they needed backup.

Records show that cars from the East Side were dispatched to handle calls for service that would have normally gone to South Side beat cars.

The officers — referred to as “A,” “B,” “C” and “D” in this story — remain on duty pending the outcome of the investigation that also includes a review of what actions their immediate supervisor took when he learned of the allegations of unauthorized departures.

The following sequence of events is compiled from those familiar with the chain of events and the public records obtained last week by The Vindicator:

• The sequence began with patrolmen “A” and “B,” who were working their South Side beat on the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift in a two-man car. Patrolman “A” was called in off the road at 2:45 a.m. to fill in for the regular overnight (9 p.m. to 5 a.m.) radio operator in the 911 Center who went home early with permission.

•At 3:52 a.m., patrolman “B” entered the 911 center, chatted with his partner and left at 4:08 a.m. Where he went is under investigation.

•Patrolmen “C” and “D” were working their 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. South Side beat.

•The video shows patrolman “C” came in off the road at 4:30 a.m. to work the radio and patrolman “A” left the 911 center. Why “C” relieved “A” and where “A” went is under investigation.

•The video of the radio operator’s station has a gap from 4:38 to 5:20 a.m.

•The video picks up at 5:20 a.m., with the day-shift radio operator, who began work at 5 a.m., at the console. The whereabouts of patrolman “C,” whose shift didn’t end until 6 a.m., is under investigation.

•Also under investigation are the actions of his partner, patrolman “D.” Records indicate he took more than two hours on a routine break-in call at an empty school on the South Side, clearing the call at 5:53 a.m. Whether he was actually at the call that long is under investigation.

Aside from the break-in, two other police reports from the early hours of June 14 on the South Side are being reviewed: a stabbing called in at 3:28 a.m. and a car towing called in at 4:44 a.m.

The stabbing on East Auburndale Avenue was handled by a West Side officer, an officer assigned to the downtown beat and an officer not assigned to a specific beat, records show. The first officer arrived at 3:35 a.m.

The stabbing injury was not life-threatening.

The car that needed to be towed from Southern Boulevard at East Auburndale Avenue had been involved in a hit-skip accident. According to police records, two East Side officers, each in one-man cars, were dispatched to the scene at 4:49 a.m. and both arrived at 4:57 a.m.

Lt. Rod Foley, head of the Internal Affairs Division, said he was told by the chief last Wednesday to investigate the matter. Foley said he is collecting information, adding it was too early to comment.

Mayor Jay Williams has said he is prepared to pursue the harshest penalty for unauthorized exits.

Hughes was out of the city Thursday, his secretary said, and he did not return calls from The Vindicator on Friday.