Niles officer back on job after 30-day suspension for threat to kill

NILES

A Niles patrolman has served a 30-work-day suspension without pay for a November incident in which he threatened to kill a city man while grabbing him by his jacket while on duty.

According to an internal affairs investigation carried out by two captains in the Niles Police Department, Patrolman Todd Mobley violated the department’s use-of-force policy through the actions and could have been charged criminally, but the victim did not file charges.

“Grabbing and restraining a person without legal reason to do so and/or threatening someone is not proper behavior for a police officer and is not in line with the Niles Police Department’s Use of Force policy,” according to findings in a report by captains Ken Criswell and Jay Holland.

Grabbing and restraining a person is authorized to protect the officer or others from physical harm, to restrain or subdue an individual or bring an unlawful situation safely and effectively under control, the report says.

Mobley also violated other departmental policies, such as failing to control his temper and asking another officer to turn off that officer’s in-car audio and video recorder, the report says.

Mobley returned to active duty Wednesday after signing a document containing information about his punishment.

Read more about the case in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.