Warren school board refuses further apology to Warren officer

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

About 30 police officers and firefighters who attended Monday’s Warren Board of Education meeting hoping to get an apology for a city police officer went away unhappy.

They were there regarding officer Adam Chinchic being escorted from Warren’s Jefferson K-8 building Jan. 8 after Chinchic wrote a parking ticket for one of the principals at the school, Carrie Boyer, for parking in half of a double-sized parking space for a person with disabilities.

Boyer, who paid the $250 ticket, had been warned multiple times prior to getting the ticket about the infraction, police said.

There was no apology, and Regina Patterson, school board president, read a prepared statement saying the parking ticket “was unrelated to her [Boyer’s] responsibilities with the district.”

Patterson said the ticket “does not impact [Boyer’s] employment and is not a factor in evaluating her overall job performance.”

Superintendent Steve Chiaro, who did not speak on the issue at the meeting, issued a written appology Jan. 18 in which he said the situation “could have been better handled by by utilizing a chain of command.”

Patterson’s statement also said there is “no new information that would change our stance regarding the superintendent’s continued employment.”

But Mike Stabile, co-director of the police union, was one of three public speakers who expressed frustration with the school district dismissing Chinchic from school-related duties while the person illegally parked was “allowed to remain.”

Chinchic has been working road-patrol duties since the incident.

Parent Nikita Warfield Owens likewise said a confusing message was sent to the children who saw the school district dismissing a police officer for enforcing the law while the the person breaking the law was allowed to remain.

She urged the board to require the principal to apologize and for Chiaro to give “a better one.”

Warren resident Paul Yannucci, a former police officer, also said the situation sent a bad message to students: “She is making decisions on our students on disciplinary action, and here she is breaking the law, so what kind of signal are we sending to our students?”

He said he believes the principal should “stand before the student body and apologize for what she did.” That remark drew a lot of applause, including that of board member Andre Coleman.

But Patterson’s prepared remarks at the end of the meeting made it clear that no apology was forthcoming Monday night.

After crediting Chiaro for his earlier apology, Patterson said, “There is nothing more to be said on that matter.”

The large crowd reacted angrily after that and Patterson warned everyone that they could be removed if they continued to disrupt the meeting.