One Warren police officer has been fired and another suspended for two days over a use-of-force incident in which a man suffered a broken arm.

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

One Warren police officer has been fired for lying, and another suspended for two days, both tied to a use-of-force incident in which a man suffered a broken arm.

Officer Jason McCollum, who had worked for the department for 13 years, was fired May 5 for lying about whether Jimmie White, now 49, had complained that officer Chris Martin had broken White’s arm.

The incident occurred May 25, 2015, at a home on Atlantic Street Northeast in which White, of Warren, alleged that an unreasonable amount of force was used during his arrest, resulting in the broken arm.

An investigation of the complaint determined that the use of force was not unreasonable, but the internal-affairs investigation showed problems with the officers’ failure to report White’s complaints at the scene and at the Trumbull County Jail.

McCollum failed to include information on use of force in the police report he wrote and failed to notify his immediate supervisor of White’s complaint, his May 5 disciplinary letter said.

McCollum also was untruthful during the investigation of the incident, the letter said.

White filed a complaint with the police department in December.

During the investigation of the complaint, the department collected audio recordings from the scene of the arrest, witness statements and audio recordings from the jail that contradicted McCollum’s statements, police Chief Eric Merkel said.

McCollum was not truthful when he wrote a “definitive statement” in a use-of-force report in December that “at no point did Mr. White complain to me about an injury, nor did he ask for medical attention during the booking process at the county jail,” McCollum’s disciplinary letter said.

“Lying by a police officer is one of the worst things you can do, short of committing a felony,” Merkel said in an interview.

Neither officer has appealed his discipline yet, according to the Warren human resources office.

Merkel noted in letters to Martin and McCollum that the investigation of the Warren Police Department by the U.S. Justice Department that resulted in a consent agreement in 2012 was prompted by a “lack of reporting and accountability” of use of force in the department.

“Accountability for our actions is imperative for public trust,” Merkel wrote. “This department has implemented stringent policies and provided extensive training to ensure that every officer is aware of what is expected of them during use-of-force-incidents.

“The duty to report is triggered by an actual use of force, as well as any claims of objectively unreasonable force” as outlined in the department’s use-of-force policy, Merkel said.

McCollum also was not truthful with Lt. Jeff Cole, internal-affairs officer, Dec. 30, 2015, when he denied witnessing use of force or assisting in the arrest and said that “Jimmie was handcuffed in seconds” by officer Martin without a struggle.

McCollum also was not truthful during his interview with Sgt. Bryan Holmes, also an internal-affairs officer, on March 23, when McCollum continued to deny that White made allegations of unreasonable force or that McCollum witnessed a use of force, his letter says.

As for Martin, he failed to complete a use-of-force report as required by the Warren Police Department and failed to notify his immediate supervisor of the incident, according to his letter.

Martin received a two-day unpaid suspension that will be served next Thursday and May 20, according to the letter.

Martin is not allowed to work any police-related functions during those two days, such as side jobs, the letter says.

Martin has been a police officer 22 years and works as a school-resource officer during the school year.

He was assigned to road patrol the day in question.