Steve N
Member
From our local paper on 4/15
http://www.chroniclet.com/2008/04/15/lorain-cop-suspended-for-48-days/
Lorain cop suspended for 48 days
Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram
Emilio Morales gets suspension without pay for 4 infractions
LORAIN — A Lorain police officer who dumped two guns into a city sewer was suspended Monday for 48 days without pay.
Emilio Morales’ suspension was the result of multiple infractions over the course of six months, according to his suspension letter.
The suspension for the 16-year officer included 30 days for dumping the guns and failing to notify the department about them, and 18 days for three other violations of department policy.
The suspension was handed down by Safety Director Phil Dore, who — in accordance with city policy — is the only one that can suspend a police officer for more than three days. Police Chief Cel Rivera recommended the lengthy suspension, but could not enact it without Dore’s approval.
Morales had told Rivera he was given the guns by a female friend who did not want the weapons in her home. The woman told police she received them from her sister, who was having domestic problems with her husband.
Instead of calling the situation in to a dispatcher, filing a report and logging the guns into the evidence room — as should have been done — Morales tossed the guns in the sewer near his home, Rivera has said.
The additional violations related to incidents that occurred while Morales worked as a security guard at a local gas station.
Twice, Morales got involved on the owner’s behalf in trying to encourage people to pay off their debts so the owner would not have to take the issues to civil court, Rivera has said.
The first involved a local cab company that the gas station owner said owed him $1,800, and the second involved an Elyria woman who was accused of forging checks at the gas station, the chief said.
The final violation of department policy involved Morales’ off-duty response to a civil matter, during which he failed to notify a dispatcher he was taking a call and did not write up a police report. Rivera said he went with a man to his former girlfriend’s home to help return her belongings — entangling himself in civil matters.
Morales was cleared of another accusation lodged against him — that he was associating with a suspected drug dealer. The accusation arose after members of Lorain Narcotics Unit noticed Morales with the man on several occasions while they were doing surveillance, the chief had said.
Rivera had said all four incidents are completely out of character for Morales. He joined the department as a corrections officer in 1991, and he became a police officer in 1993, according to his personnel file.
For many years, he alternated between working as a school resource officer and a patrolman. His record includes dozens of letters of merit and only three minor infractions, which dated back to the early 1990s.
Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or [email protected].
Lorain is a local mill town that has fallen on very hard times. They seem to have a very large low-life population, and it shows. There are a few bad cops in Lorain, and they taint the whole barrel.
That being said, I think any one of us would get more than a 30 day suspension if, as a private citizen, we threw someone's personal property in a sewer. I'd think it may even be considered theft of a firearm.
Too bad we heard about this so late. I want to know where that sewer is. Finders-Keepers and all...
http://www.chroniclet.com/2008/04/15/lorain-cop-suspended-for-48-days/
Lorain cop suspended for 48 days
Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram
Emilio Morales gets suspension without pay for 4 infractions
LORAIN — A Lorain police officer who dumped two guns into a city sewer was suspended Monday for 48 days without pay.
Emilio Morales’ suspension was the result of multiple infractions over the course of six months, according to his suspension letter.
The suspension for the 16-year officer included 30 days for dumping the guns and failing to notify the department about them, and 18 days for three other violations of department policy.
The suspension was handed down by Safety Director Phil Dore, who — in accordance with city policy — is the only one that can suspend a police officer for more than three days. Police Chief Cel Rivera recommended the lengthy suspension, but could not enact it without Dore’s approval.
Morales had told Rivera he was given the guns by a female friend who did not want the weapons in her home. The woman told police she received them from her sister, who was having domestic problems with her husband.
Instead of calling the situation in to a dispatcher, filing a report and logging the guns into the evidence room — as should have been done — Morales tossed the guns in the sewer near his home, Rivera has said.
The additional violations related to incidents that occurred while Morales worked as a security guard at a local gas station.
Twice, Morales got involved on the owner’s behalf in trying to encourage people to pay off their debts so the owner would not have to take the issues to civil court, Rivera has said.
The first involved a local cab company that the gas station owner said owed him $1,800, and the second involved an Elyria woman who was accused of forging checks at the gas station, the chief said.
The final violation of department policy involved Morales’ off-duty response to a civil matter, during which he failed to notify a dispatcher he was taking a call and did not write up a police report. Rivera said he went with a man to his former girlfriend’s home to help return her belongings — entangling himself in civil matters.
Morales was cleared of another accusation lodged against him — that he was associating with a suspected drug dealer. The accusation arose after members of Lorain Narcotics Unit noticed Morales with the man on several occasions while they were doing surveillance, the chief had said.
Rivera had said all four incidents are completely out of character for Morales. He joined the department as a corrections officer in 1991, and he became a police officer in 1993, according to his personnel file.
For many years, he alternated between working as a school resource officer and a patrolman. His record includes dozens of letters of merit and only three minor infractions, which dated back to the early 1990s.
Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or [email protected].
Lorain is a local mill town that has fallen on very hard times. They seem to have a very large low-life population, and it shows. There are a few bad cops in Lorain, and they taint the whole barrel.
That being said, I think any one of us would get more than a 30 day suspension if, as a private citizen, we threw someone's personal property in a sewer. I'd think it may even be considered theft of a firearm.
Too bad we heard about this so late. I want to know where that sewer is. Finders-Keepers and all...
