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| NEWS > 14 June 2008 |
Other related articles:
USA: Gang cop's actions cost Detroit $677,000
A Detroit Police Gang Squad officer allegedly caught on videotape beating a suburban college student has been sued eight times and cost taxpayers more than $677,000, according to court records.
That figure could rise because the college student has sued Officer Nevin Hughes in federal court, alleging the officer violated his civil rights during the incident outside a Detroit gas station in 2009.
The six-figure settlements are emerging as the department's Internal Affairs unit concludes a probe of Hughes' conduct — an investigation launched after The Detroit News posted... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,O
14 June 2008
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Akron Police Department, OH
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Mayor fires 2 Akron officers
Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic on Friday fired two city police officers for using ''unnecessary force.''
The union representing officers is protesting the action and plans to appeal.
Fired were Christopher Seiler, who allegedly kicked a suspect, and James Givens, who allegedly elbowed a suspect in the back of the neck.
Paul Hlynsky, president of the Akron Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, said Plusquellic's decision to fire the officers ''is extreme and political in nature.''
Hlynsky said that ''in neither incident was either felon hurt, nor did they file a complaint.''
He said the union plans to appeal the firings through binding arbitration and he is confident the officers will get their jobs back.
Neither officer had been disciplined previously.
Hlynsky said the mayor is ''just being politically correct to support his police auditor.''
Retired Ohio Highway Patrol trooper Phillip Young became the city's first police auditor last year — two years after City Council created the new job to address complaints from the public about police misconduct.
Hlynsky has long complained that the city established the position as a way to pacify community activists.
James Masturzo, Akron's deputy mayor of labor relations, said the police auditor ''was not part of the decision-making process'' on the firings.
''The decision for termination of the officers was my recommendation,'' Masturzo said.
Akron police spokesman Lt. Rick Edwards said police Chief Michael Matulavich declined to comment, saying the department's four-paragraph news release about the firings speaks for itself.
According to the news release, Givens elbowed a handcuffed motorist in the back of the neck following a car chase Feb. 9. The incident happened after the motorist had ''verbally taunted'' the officer, the news release said.
Givens, an eight-year veteran of the force, is not related to former Akron police Chief Larry Givens, who is the city's safety director.
The news release said Seiler, who has been with the department for six years, used unnecessary force when he kicked a prone, handcuffed suspect in the abdomen. The incident happened following a break-in at North High School on March 31.
Hlynsky said the incident at North High School involved a 17-year-old who had broken into the school. The teen allegedly had set fire to some trash cans and broken the glass of trophy cases.
Seiler reported to a supervisor that he kicked the suspect really lightly to [get him to] quit being confrontational, Hlynsky said.
Both incidents were captured on cameras.
Hlynsky said a school security camera captured ''very fuzzy'' images of Seiler.
A video camera mounted on the dash of a Cuyahoga Falls police cruiser photographed the altercation between Givens and the motorist, which also happened in North Hill.
Hlynsky disputed the city's contention that Givens ''struck the suspect in the back of the head with his elbow.
''We reviewed the tape and it's more of a push to put his head down on the cruiser because the suspect was still kicking the officer.''
Under the city's charter, the police officers have 10 calendar days to request an appeal hearing before the mayor, Masturzo said.
If the officers do not prevail in that hearing, they can appeal through the binding arbitration process or appeal to the city's Civil Service Commission.
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