Trumbull jailer fired as conduct in cell is investigated

WARREN — A probationary employee at the Trumbull County jail has been fired for possible improper contact with a female inmate.

Sheriff Thomas Altiere said the employee, 21, of Niles, was fired Tuesday for his conduct while working on Saturday.

He had been a corrections officer for eight months, and spent seven minutes in a female inmate’s cell when the normal amount of time inside a cell would be about 30 seconds, Altiere said.

Spending that much time in a cell is a violation of policy by itself, but there is also the possibility that improper contact occurred between the officer and the inmate, Altiere said.

Altiere asked the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to investigate further.

Officials checked videotape and other information regarding the employee’s movements within the jail. Taping inside of a cell is illegal, Altiere noted, so there is no videotape evidence of any improper contact.

“We have reasonable suspicion that something might have happened,” Altiere said, adding that corrections officers are on probation for one year.