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Hearing set for Oct. 16 for fired Struthers police officer
By jeanne starmack
struthers
A hearing to determine whether a fired Struthers police officer will get his job back is set for Oct. 16.
Daniel Lamping, 34, who was a full-time city officer for seven years, was fired July 27 after being charged July 16 with operating a vehicle while impaired.
Lamping’s union filed a grievance with the city over the firing, which the city denied.
After the denial, the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association notified the city that it had requested a hearing before an arbitrator.
The hearing will take place at the city building, said Struthers Mayor Terry Stocker.
Lamping wants reinstatement and back pay, Stocker said.
Stocker said there is no job for Lamping on the city’s force, even though his driving privileges are reinstated pending an administrative license-suspension appeal.
Stocker said that because Lamping refused field sobriety and breath tests the night of his arrest, the city’s insurance carrier won’t insure him. He said there is no spot on the force for an officer who can’t drive.
Daniel Leffler, an attorney with the OPBA, told The Vindicator the grievance is based on the city’s not having just cause to fire Lamping.
Lamping has not been convicted, Leffler said.
An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper stopped Lamping on South Avenue the night of July 16.
Documents in Mahoning County Court in Boardman indicate Lamping was driving without headlights. The trooper said he smelled alcohol when he went to the car window.
Lamping’s driver’s license immediately was suspended in accord with Ohio law. He appealed that suspension July 26.
He pleaded innocent at his arraignment July 19.
His case is set for a pretrial hearing at 11 a.m. Sept. 19 in the Boardman court.