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Citing conduct, Hughes fires 2 officers
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
YOUNGSTOWN
Police Chief Jimmy Hughes has fired two officers involved in a Feb. 27 incident in which a paraplegic complained he was dragged out of a sport-utility vehicle, assaulted by a police officer and left lying face-down in the snow.
The chief announced Thursday the terminations of Officer Robert Jolliff, alleged to be the assailant, and Officer Jay Fletcher, who purportedly failed to react properly as events unfolded at the scene.
Jolliff “was terminated because of the allegations of excessive force and conduct unbecoming an officer,” Hughes said. The chief added he believes Jolliff was not truthful in his comments during the internal-affairs investigation.
Jolliff had prior complaints and some prior discipline in his personnel file, but his termination was almost entirely due to the Feb. 27 incident, Hughes said.
Fletcher was fired because of the combination of the Feb. 27 incident and prior discipline in his file, the chief said.
Jolliff and Fletcher may appeal their termination in one of two ways, the chief said.
They can file a grievance through their union, which is the Youngstown Police Association, and that grievance could go to binding arbitration. The other option would be for them to appeal their termination to the city’s civil service commission, the chief added.
Willie Daniel, 36, of High Street, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a 1999 shooting, complained he was assaulted when police responded to a single-vehicle accident in the 700 block of Wilson Avenue, in which an SUV crashed into a fence.
A tow-truck driver told police he thought he saw a gun in the vehicle, but no gun was found.
An internal affairs investigation found that Jolliff used excessive force in dragging Daniel from the SUV and punching him in the face as he lay in the snow behind the vehicle.
Jolliff did not complete all the necessary reports after arresting Daniel on charges of driving under suspension and reckless operation; and witness statements weren’t turned in until the accident investigator requested them two weeks after the matter, the internal affairs report said.
Kenneth Daniel said he, not his paralyzed brother, was driving the SUV when the crash occurred.
In a separate incident, Jolliff neglected his duty by leaving his beat without his supervisor’s approval to meet another officer on April 10, the probe concluded.
Jolliff denied striking Daniel in the head or face.
An April 28 polygraph showed Jolliff was deceptive in his answers to several questions, the IA report says, without elaborating.
The IA report concluded that Fletcher did not render proper assistance at the accident scene.
“Officer Fletcher should have acted to determine what was occurring and assist Officer Jolliff in moving Mr. Daniel more properly, or assist Mr. Daniel, and restrain or advise Officer Jolliff to cease in his behavior,’’ the report concluded.