Onus now is on Monroe to turn plans into realities

A majority of Trumbull County voters went to the polls this week in the market for change at the helm of their county’s chief law-enforcement agency. In a somewhat surprising upset, 53 percent of voters chose to oust 23-year veteran Sheriff Thomas Altiere and nominate – and essentially elect – Democrat Paul Monroe to replace him next January.

We argue that the narrow victory of Monroe, long-time Howland police chief, is only somewhat surprising because of a series of troubling questions that we and others have raised about the incumbent in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election.

Prime among them is a civil-rights lawsuit filed against the sheriff and other county officials that alleges unfair inmate treatment and other irregularities in the operation and administration of the Trumbull County Jail. The inmates’ suit, for example, alleges exploitation of inmates for sexual gratification by a former corrections officer. It also charges that Altiere and others “perpetuated negligent and retention practices” and failed to institute proper training and supervision.

Even though that suit has yet to be litigated and no guilt can yet be assigned, it created yet another cloud of uncertainty over the incumbent sheriff. As we pointed out in an editorial endorsing Monroe two weeks ago, other sore spots have marred the reputation of the county jail, for whom the sheriff is singly assigned to oversee.

Among them are cases in which a corrections officer was fired for buying street drugs and another who quit in 2009 after his girlfriend said he used heroin with her. In addition, former Chief Deputy Don Guarino resigned in 2013 after the Ohio Ethics Commission found he improperly made decisions that affected the pay for his son, a deputy.

For many voters, those and other scars on the jail trumped Altiere’s four decades of service as police chief and sheriff in protecting county residents. Nonetheless, however, one cannot ignore the incumbent’s long tenure, repeated re-elections and record of accomplishments over some key aspects of keeping the peace in Trumbull County.

Among them, Altiere has greatly expanded public access to police reports and jail records in recent years, has placed increased manpower and attention to domestic-violence incidents and has supplied deputies with naloxone – heroin antidote – to more effectively respond to drug-abuse calls and to save lives.

CHALLENGES FOR MONROE

Fortunately for Monroe, he has established a strong working relationship over the years with Altiere, who as Howland chief, served as Monroe’s boss and mentor when he entered law enforcement 30 years ago.

Monroe should now consult closely with Altiere in learning the ropes of the scope of duties and responsibilities of the office. Monroe should also contact outside sources, such as the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association, to gain insights, particularly on fail-safe procedures in managing the county jail by the letter of the law.

Given that Monroe is likely to win the November general election as no Republicans or Independents have filed as candidates, he now has about nine months to prepare to take office fully in command. Considering that his victory likely was based on his multi-planked platform of change and new ideas, he must work diligently to transform those campaign platforms into office policies.

Some of those plans that he enuniciated and that we hope bear fruit include:

Assembling a screening committee of law-enforcement professionals to ensure only the most qualified candidates are hired onto the force. Monroe, after all, had accused Altiere of cronyism in his hiring practices.

Revising staffing policies to get more deputies on the streets and considering a community policing initiative, which in its early use in Youngstown has had promising results.

Expanding the Trumbull Ashtabula Law Enforcement Group as a means to better tackle the county’s skyrocketing heroin epidemic.

We would add to his priority list a set of exhaustive lessons in county jail management to ensure Monroe takes the keys to the jail with no hint of inefficiency or unfairness sullying him.

All in all, we remain optimistic that Monroe’s knowledge of law enforcement, his leadership acumen and his drive to succeed will result in productive and progressive changes in the sheriff’s department in 2017 and beyond.