Fixing an old problem falls to the new mayor
Fixing an old problem falls to the new mayor
Two weeks ago, an editorial suggested that events surrounding the death of a Youngstown traffic investigator in an off-hours accident demanded an impartial investigation and raised questions about the leadership of the Youngstown Police Department.
The officer was off-duty, but on-call, meaning he was being paid a weekly premium to be available if his services were needed. Even so, he spent the evening with some fellow officers, drank to excess and was then dropped off at his cruiser so that he could drive home — which he attempted to do, even though his blood alcohol was at nearly twice the legal limit.
Some have suggested that this was an isolated incident and a tragic demonstration of one man showing poor judgment. We don’t disagree that it was tragic, but the totality of the circumstances suggest a dangerous lack of discipline in the department. And some police officers — certainly not all — have been taking advantage of the situation.
More cause for concern
Within days of our editorial calling for an independent investigation, another incident came to light. As reported in detail last Sunday, as many as four police officers assigned to the city’s South Side were unaccounted for in the early hours of June 14, necessitating the assignment of cruisers from other parts of the city to cover South Side emergency calls.
Mayor Jay Williams now says that he and members of his administration are assessing the police department “from the bottom up and from the top down.”
He says he is “very concerned” about recent events, especially since YPD is the largest and most highly visible department in the city.
While he’s confident that most police officers are dedicated to doing a good job, he says a culture that encourages ignoring mistakes rather than addressing them has existed for decades.
However long the department’s problems may have been in the making, they are now Williams’ problem.
He has the intelligence to acknowledge that; he’ll need the political strength and strength of character to do what has to be done.
Doing little or nothing is not an option.