LORAIN, Ohio — Three Lorain police officers have either been fired or resigned in disgrace following an internal investigation into several allegations of "gross misconduct."
Police Chief Jim McCann says he had recommended Lt. Tabitha Angello, Sgt. Ken Zapolski, and Officer Carlos Trujillo all be terminated, and that all three were off the job by Nov. 10. In addition, a grand jury has issued an eight-count indictment against Angello in connection with the accusations and she could potentially face time behind bars.
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The inquiry originally stemmed from a Sept. 21 incident involving Angello, Zapolski, and another male officer when all were off-duty. According to the department, Angello and the officer were speaking in an alley behind an establishment on the 900 block of Broadway Avenue when Zapolski came up from behind and sucker punched the officer. Surveillance video shared by authorities appears to show Zapolski knocking the officer to the ground and later shoving Angello at least once.
Zapolski and Angello had been in a romantic relationship "for years" and were living with each other at the time of the incident, but both refused to cooperate with the subsequent police investigation. McCann then ordered both to immediately hand over their department-issued cell phones, but the chief claims body camera footage showed Angello "manipulating" her device before finally surrendering it. She is now alleged to have deleted or tampered with more than two gigabytes of data.
Investigators were able to retrieve the messages through a forensic download and found apparent evidence of "inappropriate acts" with at at least two of the lieutenant's subordinates (neither of which was the officer whom Zapolski punched). As the probe continued, the department ruled Angello had engaged in sexual acts with Officer Carlos Trujillo while both on-duty and off-duty and had also been romantically linked with an unnamed convicted drug trafficker, also having sex with that individual "several times" while on the clock.
Rather than be fired, Angello chose to resign from the department on Nov. 10. Six days later, she was indicted on the following charges:
- Tampering with evidence (two counts)
- Tampering with records (two counts)
- Unauthorized use of the law enforcement automated database system (three counts)
- Obstructing official business
Officials have not specified any possible court dates for Angello. If convicted of all charges, she could face more than two decades in prison.
In addition, Zapolski retired as a police officer on Nov. 3 and still faces misdemeanor charges of assault, domestic violence, and menacing by stalking in connection with the original Sept. 21 incident. Trujillo was not accused of any crimes but was found to have committed multiple violations of department policy, and was fired on Nov. 14.
McCann released a statement saying, in part:
"The decision to recommend terminating the three officers involved in this investigation was not made lightly, even though two of the three chose to resign in disgrace in lieu of termination. Nevertheless, a clear message has been sent to the officers of the Lorain Police Department and to members of the public, that such repugnant conduct will not be tolerated at the Lorain Police Department.
"I have taken proactive measures to rid the agency of any disgraceful conduct committed by my officers. My officers are here to serve the public with honor and respect, and I will continue to mandate the high standards that I expect from them.
"The Lorain Police Department will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach for violations stemming from a lack of integrity. We will continue to be transparent and to work hard to maintain and sustain the support of those who trust us to serve and to do the right thing."