Polivka arrested on violence charge

The Trumbull County commissioner pleaded innocent to the charge that alleges he assaulted his wife at a Howland golf course.

STAFF REPORT

HOWLAND — Trumbull County Commissioner Daniel Polivka posted a $2,500 personal recognizance bond on a first-degree misdemeanor charge tied to his wife’s claim of assault.

Howland Police Chief Paul Monroe said Polivka was arrested about 1 p.m. Friday at the Howland branch of the Warren-Trumbull County Library on East Market Street.

Police had been called to Old Avalon golf course nearby.

Monroe said Polivka’s wife, JoAnn, claimed he assaulted her on the golf course. “His wife alleged that he committed an act of violence against her,” he said.

Polivka, 46, of Country Club Drive in Warren, is charged with domestic violence and was processed at the Trumbull County Jail before being released on bond, according to the sheriff’s office. He pleaded innocent in Warren Municipal Court.

Jeff Eling, Howland library branch manager, said he doesn’t know much about why Polivka was at the library before his arrest.

“We know very little. He was here, and then police came,” he said. “I’m not sure if he was [with anyone] He was inside for a while.”

A manager at the golf course declined to comment.

Elected in 2004, Polivka is serving his second term as county commissioner. He served as Warren’s 5th Ward councilman from 1983 to 1987 and councilman-at-large from 1988 to 2004.

This isn’t the first time the commissioner has had run-ins with police, however.

According to Vindicator files, Polivka was charged with assault in 1986, though the charge was later dropped.

In 1989, his former wife Heidi filed for divorce citing gross neglect of duty and extreme cruelty. She asked the court for a restraining order against Polivka due to what she called previous physical and verbal harassment.

Heidi Polivka filed assault charges against Polivka and his mother in 1990. The pair were later cleared of those charges.

In 1991, he was acquitted of child endangerment, a charge filed after Polivka left his child alone in a locked car.

Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda declined comment on the arrest; Commissioner Paul Heltzel couldn’t be reached Friday evening.