sagamore hill: Veteran police officer fired in Sagamore Hills Township

SAGAMORE HILLS TOWNSHIP — A 20-year veteran of the township's police department was fired Tuesday following a unanimous vote of the trustees.

At an emergency meeting, Chief David Hayes presented unspecified charges against Patrolman Mark Podgorski and recommended his termination.

"We acted on the request of the chief," Trustee Rosemary Snell said. Snell did not disclose the charges brought against Podgorski, but said they were not related to his demotion from the rank of sergeant in July following an incident during which he and other officers entered Somier McLaughlin's home during a domestic dispute.

McLaughlin won a $650,000 settlement after she filed a lawsuit charging that intervening police officers had no writ, court order, warrant or any other legal authority to be at her home.

The trustees agreed with Hayes' move to demote Podgorski, who was the officer in charge during the incident. They cited findings by a Wayne County Sheriff's Office investigation that Podgorski used bad judgment, should not have been at McLaughlin's house at all, and should have left when she told him to.

Hayes could not be reached for comment.


Source: blog.cleveland.com