Hobart officer suspended 5 days wants job restriction lifted
By Karen Caffarini
Post-Tribune correspondent May 16, 2012 9:08PM
HOBART — A Hobart
police officer involved in an inappropriate off-duty working relationship with
a local towing company Wednesday was denied a formal evidentiary hearing on the
matter, a review of his five-day suspension without pay and the ability to do off-duty
work that requires him being a police officer until the hearing would take
place.
Merrillville
attorney Shana Levinson said she would appeal Wednesday’s actions by the Board
of Works and Public Safety to either Lake Superior Court or Lake Circuit Court
on behalf of her client, police officer Brian Hanson, who has been on the force
for 15 years.
Levinson said she
is against all the sanctions imposed against Hanson, but her main focus on
Wednesday was to ask the board to stay the one-year restriction in which Hanson
could not do off-duty work that requires his policing powers.
“I assert that the
officer didn’t do anything wrong and I want the board to review all that was
said against him,” Levinson said.
She said it would
take time for her to prepare for an evidentiary hearing and asked that Hanson
be allowed to work in a job that requires his police powers during the interim.
“Restricting him
from working any side jobs deprives the officer and his family of a great deal
of income,” said Levinson, who also contended that Police Chief Jeff White
stepped beyond his authority in imposing the punishment.
“Your ordinance
says the police officer can’t work any side jobs during the suspension, but it
doesn’t say anything about beyond the suspension,” Levinson said during the
board meeting.
She said she
believes Hanson is entitled to back pay from the suspension.
Hanson was accused
of improperly soliciting towing work by on-duty police officers while working
off-duty at a local towing company. Hanson was paid per tow, according to
White.
Attorney Allen J.
Mindel, representing the police department, countered that Hanson isn’t being
deprived of any employment within the city of Hobart or any off-duty job that
doesn’t require his policing powers.
“I believe Chief
White was justified in his actions. I believe the restrictions should stay in
place, at least until a hearing takes place,” Mindel said.
The Board of Works
and Public Safety’s actions came upon the recommendations of both Mindel and
city Attorney Anthony DeBonis.
White said what
led to the sanctions was a history of poor judgment shown by the officer.
“Letting him go
back to jobs where he could use his police powers would bring liability back to
the city,” White said.
He said after the
meeting that Levinson appears to believe that police officers have the right to
work off-duty under their authority as a Hobart police officer.
“I can’t imagine
that being the case,” he said.
Mayor Brian
Snedecor said the chief of police has the right to suspend any officer for up
to five days without a Board of Works hearing.
DeBonis said if
the case goes to either Lake Superior or Lake Circuit court, it could be in
litigation for some time as there are no previous case files on this matter of
which he is aware.