Posted on 07/24/2003 6:51:15 AM PDT by buccaneer81
Speed trap for lawyer backfires on troopers
7 patrol employees pay for keeping him from meeting clients
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Dana Wilson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The client’s call awoke the lawyer at 6 a.m. She told him State Highway Patrol troopers were trying to enter her home to question her husband. Richard Hinig explained her right to refuse them entry over the course of two conversations, then hit the road. Before leaving, he notified the patrol’s New Philadelphia post that he was on his way to the scene. Not if they could help it.
Using interviews, dispatch recordings and videotapes, patrol investigators and a hearing officer have determined at least three troopers plotted to detain Hinig, keeping him from his client that December morning. In a Feb. 26 letter to Col. Paul D. McClellan, patrol superintendent, Hinig outlined the incident:
"My complaint arises from the fact that the three of them conspired to stop me for speeding when they knew that I was on my way to a client’s home where they were trying to gain entry without my client’s consent." Hinig, a former Democratic state representative, was traveling 61 mph in a 55 mph zone.
A total of seven patrol employees were involved, the patrol said. Two have been fired, one suspended and four others reprimanded. Their actions violated the patrol’s rules and go against agency values, patrol spokesman Sgt. Rick Zwayer said.
"We have a great responsibility to uphold the laws of the state and to enforce them fairly without prejudice," he said. "We have over 1,500 officers, and the great majority of those officers day in and day out serve the public in an exemplary fashion."
McClellan on Tuesday fired Sgt. Don Ryan and Trooper Ben Huff of the New Philadelphia post in Tuscarawas County, about 90 miles northeast of Columbus, Zwayer said.
Ryan, 37, was charged with failure to show responsibility of his command and conduct unbecoming of an officer. Huff, 25, was charged with conduct unbecoming of an officer and inefficiency in performance of his duty. Three troopers, a lieutenant and a dispatcher also were investigated, Zwayer said. Trooper Vic Wolfe is serving a threeday suspension.
The patrol issued written reprimands to Lt. Eric Escola, troopers Andrew Slezak and Jeff Brindley and dispatcher Deborah Betts. Patrol investigators began work on the case after Hinig filed a written complaint on Feb. 26 saying that his traffic stop wasn’t routine.
"I filed the complaint, and it’s been the patrol’s process after that," Hinig said yesterday. He declined to comment further, referring instead to the Feb. 26 letter.
In it, he noted the transcript of a radio conversation among Huff, Ryan, Slezak and Betts, the dispatcher. The conversation acknowledged Hinig was on his way to see his client.
Then, the exchange becomes more cryptic:
Ryan: "Hope he remembers what the speed limit is this morning."
Slezak: "Exactly my point."
Huff: "In between the three of us, we oughta run into him."
Additional conversations were unavailable, Hinig said in the letter, because the troopers switched to their citizens-band radios.
During Hinig’s drive to his client’s home, Huff stopped him and cited him for speeding. The special prosecutor eventually dismissed the case in New Philadelphia Municipal Court, Hinig wrote.
But in the process, Hinig discovered the taped conversation.
Hinig also was troubled that Huff didn’t turn on his cameras to record the incident until just before he left his cruiser to issue the citation.
"He claims it was an electronic malfunction; I say that he turned the camera off during the pursuit so that he could talk with the others on the CB without being recorded. You decide which scenario to believe." Ryan, a trooper since 1987, had one administrative violation on his record before the incident.
Huff, hired in 2000, had two tardiness violations, a preventable patrol-car crash and an equipment-misuse violation on his disciplinary record.
"It’s more than unfortunate that this has taken place," Zwayer said. "We have a duty to the public that they can trust the actions of our officers.
"There’s no person in uniform in the Highway Patrol . . . that is not going to be disappointed in something like this occurring."
Hinig told McClellan in the letter that he wanted to discuss with him "compensating me for what these troopers put me through and for violating my constitutional rights."
"It is truly chilling," he wrote, "to listen to three Ohio State Highway Patrol Troopers plot to intercept me."
Some people just like the taste of boot, I guess.
Never heard that part, but on TV last night they said the client was being investigated for possible DUI (although I don't know how it would stick if he was in the house).
I've met a few bad cops in my life. I don't care if the lawyer was a Rat. Those troopers conspired to keep him from a client as they tried to gain entry into his home. 61 in a 55? Gimme a break. That's a joke.
Then why were they fired?
Are you missing the point on purpose?
I will spell it out for you.
He was on his way to assist his client, who had police at his front door.
The police conspired to delay his arrival.
Under these conditions, I would strongly suspect that the police would lie about the speed he was traveling, since it was their intention to stop him regardless.
Are you saying their conspiracy was ok?
I generally support the police, but I am not going to do so blindly. There are rules. And in this case, they were investigated, and wrong doing was established, so they (the police) were punished. I am ok with that.
Actually, according to the article, he beat the ticket. Obviously the judge saw what was going on.
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