Was cop in shop shopping on city time?

WARREN — Police Chief John Mandopoulos has ordered an internal investigation to determine whether Patrolman Frank Dascoulias violated departmental policy Sunday while on duty in the Lowe’s store on Niles-Cortland Road.

Mandopoulos said he received a complaint alleging that Dascoulias, who is also an official with the patrolman’s union, was shopping while he was on duty at the home improvement store.

Mandopoulos said he encourages officers to spend time in Warren businesses while they are on patrol as a form of community policing and to make their presence felt.

“They love to see a uniformed cop in there,” Mandopoulos said of Warren businesses.

But if Dascoulias was purchasing items while on duty, he will be charged with a violation of departmental policy, Mandopoulos said.

As for whether it is permissible for officers to look at merchandise while on duty, that is a bit more of a gray area, Mandopoulos said.

“Do they look? Yes,” he said, but if an officer is spending too much time, like hours, looking, that would be a problem, he said.

The store has security cameras inside, so it shouldn’t be hard to determine whether Dascoulias made a purchase or how much time he was there, Mandopoulos said.