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Twinsburg leaders defend police actions, cite prosecutions and seek accreditation progress
Summary
Council and the mayor described the conclusion of lengthy personnel matters, noted a prosecution and a guilty plea in a telecommunications-harassment case, and highlighted Twinsburg PD's work toward Ohio Collaborative accreditation.
Council used its April 14 meeting to address recurring public concerns about police-department conduct and to describe completed personnel actions and accreditation work.
Karen Clinton used the public-comment period to allege crimes within the police department and to request dispatch and phone-audio public records related to incidents she described. Council members and the mayor responded with factual clarifications: Mr. Post and others said the city prosecuted a former employee who pled guilty to telecommunications harassment and that the prosecution was referred to an outside Akron prosecutor to avoid conflicts of interest. Council asked Ms. Clinton to provide clearer detail to staff so records requests could be processed; council also said that, in some instances, additional information from the requester is necessary to fulfill a public-records search.
Council also summarized the outcome of internal and legal processes: three officers had been released for cause following an internal investigation; two of those cases settled and one went to arbitration and resulted in a ruling in the city's favor, according to council remarks. Mayor Scapiti and council members repeatedly praised Chief Tom Mason and Lieutenant Brian Donado for leadership and cited the department’s recent progress toward Ohio Collaborative accreditation standards. The mayor noted Twinsburg has been selected into the Ohio accreditation application process and the city held a signing ceremony March 30 acknowledging participation.
Chief Mason provided quarterly statistics: the combined police and fire calls for the first quarter were 9,031; listed charges included thefts, assaults, drug possession and DUIs; there were 105 traffic accidents during the quarter including 13 injury crashes and one fatality. The chief also reported training hours, named individual officers who completed executive leadership programs, and said the department is working on an education-and-enforcement approach to ebikes and electric motorcycles.
Council emphasized differences between allegations made in public comment and outcomes of legal and administrative processes already completed, and invited residents to work through records-request procedures and to provide details to staff so outstanding requests may be processed.
