YPD probe brings punishment, but state review is still advised

Youngstown residents can rest assured that the Internal Affairs Division of the Youngstown Police Department left no stone unturned in its investigation of a controversial traffic stop, as evidenced by the discipline handed down to four officers.

Most notably, the demotion of Lt. John Kelty, a veteran member of the force, to patrolman shows that there were no sacred cows in this investigation. The demotion will cost Kelty $16,990 next year in loss of wages, and $1,383 for a five-day suspension without pay. In simple terms, his pay will fall from $34.58 an hour to $26.41 an hour.

But Kelty wasn’t the only one penalized for getting 54-year-old Joseph Slattery out of a charge of operating a vehicle impaired. Slattery is the brother of police Lt. Gerard Slattery, who heads the police department’s vice squad. Slattery was given a 10-day suspension for his involvement in the interruption of official police business, and it will cost him $2,766.

Officer Thomas Wisener, who initially stopped Joseph Slattery as he was driving on Mahoning Avenue, was given a 15-day suspension with a loss of pay of $1,806.

And, Officer Assad Chaibi, who administered a blood-alcohol test on Joseph Slattery but later threw away the evidence ticket that came out of the machine, will have four hours of compensatory time taken away, at a cost of $106.

After carefully reading the detailed report from the Internal Affairs Division, it is clear that Mayor John A. McNally, police Chief Robin Lees and others in City Hall were committed to not only getting to the truth, but to mete out punishment without regard to rank, influence or years of service.

McNally and Lees, along with Lt. Brian Butler of the Internal Affairs Division, are deserving of the public’s gratitude for not falling back on what has historically been this region’s calling card when it comes to government corruption: the cover-up.

But while we applaud the ultimate result of the investigation, we are still at odds with the administration over its contention that the city is permitted by state law to keep all relevant information under wraps because of an on-going probe.

City officials were of the opinion that the state’s public-records statute did not apply.

We expressed our strong disagreement with that position and, given the nature of the traffic stop and subsequent investigation, called on the mayor to bring in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to take over the investigation.

We still believe that a review by BCI agents of the YPD’s internal investigation and subsequent disciplinary action is warranted.

Why? Because while the demotion of Kelty, the unpaid suspensions and the withdrawal of compensatory time may seem like appropriate punishment, we have no way of knowing if, for example, Kelty was treated fairly, unfairly or with kid gloves.

A firing offense?

Should anyone have been fired over this case? Were all four participants in a conspiracy to protect Slattery from a definite OVI charge given appropriate punishment?

And finally, did Officer Wisener, who pulled Slattery over, deserve any discipline considering that he is comparatively new and, from a civilian standpoint, could not have ignored the orders of his superiors?

It’s possible Wisener would have been ostracized by his fellow officers had he contacted Chief Lees the night of the incident and complained about the interference from high-ranking members of the department.

The possibility of retribution could have been detrimental to Wisener’s future in the department.