LORAIN — The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into allegations that Lorain police officers have used excessive force.

No individual officers or incidents were singled out by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a letter sent to Lorain Mayor Tony Krasienko on Thursday informing him of the investigation.

Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General Grace Chung Becker wrote in the letter that investigators “will seek to determine whether there are systematic violations of the Constitution or laws of the United States in the use of force by members of the LPD.”

Assistant Lorain Law Director Jim Walther said the Justice Department investigation is civil, not criminal, and that the city and police plan to cooperate with investigators.

A troubled past

The investigation comes as the police department is dealing with a host of internal issues, including the trials of two officers who were accused of pursuing inappropriate relationships with women they met while on duty. One, Stanley

Marrero, was fired after he was convicted of intimidation, public indecency and dereliction of duty and sentenced to 60 days in the county jail. Marrero still awaits trial on an unrelated rape charge dating back 15 years.

The menacing by stalking trial of the second officer, Jesus Sanchez, concluded Thursday, and he is awaiting a county judge’s verdict.

Other recent investigations of officers include allegations ranging from arriving to work drunk to dumping guns down a sewer and domestic issues that have reached the court system.

Given the bad reputation the department seems to be laboring under, Krasienko said the investigation could be a good thing.

“There’s a perception of our police department,” he said. “Maybe the Department of Justice can remove some of that veil of impropriety that’s hanging around.”

Krasienko said the city and police Chief Cel Rivera, who did not return calls seeking comment, have been working to remove problematic officers and those officers shouldn’t reflect negatively on the rest of the department,

“We found the bad apples, and they’re being brought to justice,” Krasienko said.

Instigating factor

Although city officials say they don’t know for sure what sparked the investigation, Krasienko said it could stem from a request for an investigation sent to the Justice Department by at-large City Council members Anne Molnar and Mitch Fallis in June.

Among the complaints forwarded by Molnar and Fallis to federal officials were allegations of sexual misconduct and police brutality.

Both Molnar and Fallis said they received complaints from citizens and police officers about what was going on in the department and felt duty-bound to pass the information along to an independent agency.

“I relayed the information to them as it was relayed to me,” Molnar said. “I am pleased that an independent federal organization is looking into this matter for the Lorain citizens and officers.”

A lot of the information received by Molnar and Fallis came from Joseph Montelon, a former Lorain police officer and convicted sex offender who has been funneling internal police documents that he’s received from a source within the department to the Council members and others for years.

Lorain police and the FBI raided Montelon’s Wickliffe home in August searching for evidence that would link him to a string of malicious letters about the conduct of Lorain officers that have been mailed anonymously to reporters and public officials for years.

Montelon, who hasn’t been charged in the case, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked whether he was responsible for the letters. Both he and Molnar have said they believe the raid on his house was an effort to discover the identity of his source within the department who has been leaking the documents.

Ongoing investigation

Walther said city officials, including Chief Rivera, told Justice Department officials that they welcomed the excessive force investigation during a conference call Friday. He said city officials don’t feel they have anything to hide.

“We don’t have a concern that they’re going to find any kind of problem, but if they do have any concerns, we’re open to listening to whatever they have to say,” he said.

The investigation, which could take up to a year, will include an examination of the department’s policies and procedures, which was already being reviewed and updated, Walther said. Investigators will also review police reports and complaints dating back over a one-year period, conduct ride-alongs with officers and hold meetings with community members, he said.

In addition to the investigation, the Justice Department will also hire a consultant to work with the city.

Justice Department officials said during the call that they aren’t looking for individual instances of police officers brutalizing suspects, but rather a pattern of ongoing behavior that could show the department’s policies permit the use of excessive force, Walther said.

If a problem is found, Walther said, it wouldn’t lead to sanctions, but an effort to reform the department so the problems don’t continue.

But Krasienko said if the investigation does show any wrongdoing by officers, he’ll push to have them prosecuted criminally.

“We have zero tolerance to an excessive use of authority,” he said.

Robert Phillips, an attorney representing the Lorain police union, said he was unaware that the department was the target of a federal investigation and couldn’t comment on it. But he did say that conducting an investigation doesn’t mean there’s been any misconduct.

“I went through Department of Justice investigations into the Cleveland Police Department and into the Lakewood Police Department — both of which were benign,” he said.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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