cop suspended after ticketing mayor’s son during checkpoint stop
10-27-09, 12:28 AM
#1
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cop suspended after ticketing mayor’s son during checkpoint stop
Stockton cop suspended after ticketing mayor’s son during checkpoint stop
A Stockton cop has been suspended from his job by Stockton Mayor Dan Rydalch after ticketing the mayor’s son for not having a driver’s license during a traffic checkpoint Tuesday night.
Cpl. Josh Rowell, who was hired on by the town in January, was motioning vehicles to stop on the side of the road to check for license, registration, proof of insurance and DUI around 10:30 p.m. when he got word of a white vehicle turning onto a residential street, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the checkpoint (see related story on A3). Rowell, who was assigned to drive a squad car stationed at the south side of the checkpoint to catch such motorists, followed after the car and initiated a traffic stop.
When the male driver of the vehicle was unable to produce a driver’s license, Rowell said he issued the man — whom he had never met before — a ticket.
“The man then said, ‘I’m out looking for my dog, so I’m going to be driving around. Tell your buddies not to pull me over,’” Rowell recalled. “I said, ‘No, no, no. If you don’t have a driver’s license, don’t go driving around.’”
Rowell said he threatened to pull the man over again if he saw him out driving later. Rowell then returned to the checkpoint and turned the ticket stub into the court clerk. It was then he found out that the man he had just issued the ticket to was Rydalch’s son, according to Rowell.
“About 15 or 20 minutes later, I went over to talk to the court clerk again because we hit a slow point and I noticed that the chief was gone,” Rowell said. “The clerk told me he was in the mayor’s truck talking and the mayor seemed to be pretty ticked off because I had given his son a ticket.”
Rowell said when he went to talk to the mayor, the mayor abruptly fired him. Then, after cooling down a bit, the mayor retracted his firing statement and suspended him instead.
“All I heard was ‘suspended until further notice,’” Rowell said. “All for just doing my job.”
Mayor Rydalch said the matter is being handled internally.
“It had nothing to do with the ticket,” Rydalch said. “The ticket will remain. It had to do with the manner in which the situation was handled.”
Stockton Police Chief Heinz Kopp declined to comment on the matter, saying that the suspension was the mayor’s decision and the mayor supersedes him in authority.
“The whole situation hit me by surprise,” Kopp said.
According to the Stockton Policy and Procedure Manual, the director of personnel and management for the town is the mayor, giving him the responsibility for “coordinating the personnel activities of the town to assure compliance with applicable federal, state, and town personnel management law, regulations and ordinances.” No further policy is recorded for handling allegations of misconduct against employees.
In comparison, the Tooele City Police Department policy manual categorizes complaints of misconduct into two categories: one for serious actions — including situations in which a person has been killed or seriously injured by an officer or a firearm was discharged — and non-criminal actions — including rudeness, poor demeanor or favoritism. Allegations in both categories are investigated internally to determine whether they are not sustained, unfounded, or founded before punitive action is taken against an officer.
While Rowell isn’t sure what the future will yield for him, he’s convinced he handled the situation correctly.
“I’m pretty sure I acted completely professional in enforcing the law and doing my job,” he said. “I finished out the rest of the night and after that dropped my police car off at the station and got a ride home. All I heard was ‘until further notice.’”
http://www.transcriptbulletin.com/pa...news_1st_right
A Stockton cop has been suspended from his job by Stockton Mayor Dan Rydalch after ticketing the mayor’s son for not having a driver’s license during a traffic checkpoint Tuesday night.
Cpl. Josh Rowell, who was hired on by the town in January, was motioning vehicles to stop on the side of the road to check for license, registration, proof of insurance and DUI around 10:30 p.m. when he got word of a white vehicle turning onto a residential street, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the checkpoint (see related story on A3). Rowell, who was assigned to drive a squad car stationed at the south side of the checkpoint to catch such motorists, followed after the car and initiated a traffic stop.
When the male driver of the vehicle was unable to produce a driver’s license, Rowell said he issued the man — whom he had never met before — a ticket.
“The man then said, ‘I’m out looking for my dog, so I’m going to be driving around. Tell your buddies not to pull me over,’” Rowell recalled. “I said, ‘No, no, no. If you don’t have a driver’s license, don’t go driving around.’”
Rowell said he threatened to pull the man over again if he saw him out driving later. Rowell then returned to the checkpoint and turned the ticket stub into the court clerk. It was then he found out that the man he had just issued the ticket to was Rydalch’s son, according to Rowell.
“About 15 or 20 minutes later, I went over to talk to the court clerk again because we hit a slow point and I noticed that the chief was gone,” Rowell said. “The clerk told me he was in the mayor’s truck talking and the mayor seemed to be pretty ticked off because I had given his son a ticket.”
Rowell said when he went to talk to the mayor, the mayor abruptly fired him. Then, after cooling down a bit, the mayor retracted his firing statement and suspended him instead.
“All I heard was ‘suspended until further notice,’” Rowell said. “All for just doing my job.”
Mayor Rydalch said the matter is being handled internally.
“It had nothing to do with the ticket,” Rydalch said. “The ticket will remain. It had to do with the manner in which the situation was handled.”
Stockton Police Chief Heinz Kopp declined to comment on the matter, saying that the suspension was the mayor’s decision and the mayor supersedes him in authority.
“The whole situation hit me by surprise,” Kopp said.
According to the Stockton Policy and Procedure Manual, the director of personnel and management for the town is the mayor, giving him the responsibility for “coordinating the personnel activities of the town to assure compliance with applicable federal, state, and town personnel management law, regulations and ordinances.” No further policy is recorded for handling allegations of misconduct against employees.
In comparison, the Tooele City Police Department policy manual categorizes complaints of misconduct into two categories: one for serious actions — including situations in which a person has been killed or seriously injured by an officer or a firearm was discharged — and non-criminal actions — including rudeness, poor demeanor or favoritism. Allegations in both categories are investigated internally to determine whether they are not sustained, unfounded, or founded before punitive action is taken against an officer.
While Rowell isn’t sure what the future will yield for him, he’s convinced he handled the situation correctly.
“I’m pretty sure I acted completely professional in enforcing the law and doing my job,” he said. “I finished out the rest of the night and after that dropped my police car off at the station and got a ride home. All I heard was ‘until further notice.’”
http://www.transcriptbulletin.com/pa...news_1st_right
10-27-09, 05:05 AM
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I dont get it.. The mayor was mad because the cop gave his son a ticket for driving without a license, fired the cop, un fired him and then suspended him... thats one weird mayor
10-27-09, 07:02 AM
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Obviously the mayor is very wrong and I'm sure this will backfire greatly on him but at the same time I think those checkpoint stops are bull**** so I really can't feel bad for the cop.
10-27-09, 08:41 AM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
Go check your state legal codes. Driving is NOT a right. It is a priviledge. A cop, legally, can check for a license any time he or she feels it is warranted. It is YOUR responsibility, as a driver, to have a VALID license/registration and to produce them upon request. That is not hassling.
As for the Mayor, he probably owes the cop an apology.....and, IMO, a promotion to Sergeant. He also needs to sit down with his son and give him a good chewing out....in addition to the ticket.
As for the Mayor, he probably owes the cop an apology.....and, IMO, a promotion to Sergeant. He also needs to sit down with his son and give him a good chewing out....in addition to the ticket.
10-27-09, 09:17 AM
#11
Nobody said he didn't have a license. He just didn't have it on him.
And we weren't there to know how poorly the situation was handled.
But yeah, power abuse. So what? Stick it to 'em!
Cops need to spend their time catching the bad guys. Not catching the people driving who left their wallets at home.
And we weren't there to know how poorly the situation was handled.
But yeah, power abuse. So what? Stick it to 'em!
Cops need to spend their time catching the bad guys. Not catching the people driving who left their wallets at home.
10-27-09, 09:18 AM
#12
This is the opposite of how Arnold (supposedly) got mad and embarrassed when he saw a pic of his wife driving while holding her cell phone.
There's just not a whole lot to do in that area of California so made he just did it for some press... haha
There's just not a whole lot to do in that area of California so made he just did it for some press... haha
10-27-09, 10:21 AM
#13
Lexus Champion
The people of Stockton need to really be aware of this and understand that their elected mayor is obviously abusing his power. This is a somewhat small incident, can you imagine what he's done that isn't so black and white so blatant.
I hate hearing about stuff like this.
I hate hearing about stuff like this.
