By Tom Moore
Jan 25, 2021
(Cleveland) - In an update on a story we brought you last week, there s more information about why a Cleveland Police officer was fired.
Officer Howard Hart had been using crack cocaine from July 2016 to July 2020, failed to report for mandatory training, failed to show up for work, and failed to show up for seven appointments with a police department doctor. The letter notifying Hart he had been fired did not say how police came to the knowledge of his drug use.
Hart also didn t accurately report the events of a fellow police officer s actions during an arrest. That officer, John Petkac, stepped on the throat of a man, and slammed the man into the side of a police cruiser after handcuffing him. Officer Petkac was fired in December.
Cleveland Police officer fired after investigation reveals inaccurate reporting, drug use Cleveland Police file photo (Source: WOIO) By Avery Williams | January 21, 2021 at 6:57 AM EST - Updated January 21 at 7:44 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The city announced the termination of a Cleveland Police officer on Wednesday afternoon.
A press release said the city’s internal investigation revealed Howard Hart, 31, committed a slew of violations.
He was fired on Tuesday, according to a press release.
The violations include an inaccurate use of force report and drug use.
In December, the city fired another Cleveland Police officer, John Petkac, after an investigation found him guilty of multiple use of force violations.
Six Cleveland police officers suspended without pay after internal investigation
Updated Dec 31, 2020;
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CLEVELAND, Ohio Six Cleveland police officers were suspended without pay after an internal investigation, Director of Public Safety Karrie Howard announced in a news release.
The suspended officers are: Lt. Brian Chetnik, Det. Andrew Hayduk, Patrol Officer Antonio Muniz, Patrol Officer Allen Nagy, Patrol Officer Rashawn Rahim and Patrol Officer Darryl Turner.
The internal investigation, directed by the Cleveland Police Internal Affairs Unit, was looking at the officers’ roles in an incident in September 2018 involving patrol officer John Petkac. Petkac was fired Dec. 21 for using excessive force in three incidents over 13 months. The release does not elaborate.
6 Cleveland Police officers suspended after 1 already fired following excessive use of force investigation Former Officer John Petkac spoke to 19 News at an event honoring a fallen officer in 2017. (Source: WOIO) By Rachel Vadaj and Steph Krane | December 30, 2020 at 9:39 PM EST - Updated December 31 at 9:38 AM
CLEVELAND (WOIO) - The city of Cleveland has suspended six Cleveland Police Officers without pay after already firing now-former city police officer John Petkac on Dec. 21 night after an investigation found him guilty of multiple use of force violations.
An internal investigation found Petkac “repeatedly used excessive, unnecessary and objectively unreasonable uses of force,” including stepping on and grabbing the throat of a subject in September 2018.
By Tom Moore
Dec 31, 2020
(Cleveland) - Six Cleveland Police officers have been suspended without pay, following an internal investigation into how they handled the use of excessive force by another police officer.
Lieutenant Brian Chetnik, Detective Andrew Hayduk, and Patrol Officers Antonio Muniz, Allen Nagy, Rashawn Rahim, and Darryl Turner, will all serve between 13 to 30 days off the job. All are assigned to the Third District. Their suspensions will be in effect at the start of their next tour of duty.
According letters from Safety Director Karrie Howard, the six were found to have inaccurately have reported the situation in which Officer John Petkac used excessive force in an arrest in 2018, They also improperly used their body cameras, and they failed to intervene. Officer Petkac was fired from the Cleveland Division of Police earlier this month.