CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland has suspended three more police officers without pay following an investigation into an alleged incident of excessive force during an arrest.
Public Safety Director Karrie D. Howard announced patrol officers Patrick Valencic, Michael Cozart II, and Richard Delvecchio will all be off the job for between 14-30 days. An internal affairs investigation found the trio failed to intervene, inaccurately reported the events, and were neglectful in their duty.
Though the department has never revealed the full details of what happened during the arrest in question, the matter resulted in Officer John Petkac being fired last December. The division did claim he used his taser on a man who was passively resisting, along with a slew of other accusations.
Six other officers were also suspended for failing to intervene and improper use of equipment:
- Lt. Brian Chetnik
- Det. Andrew Hayduk
- Patrol Officer Antonio Muniz
- Patrol Officer Allen Nagy
- Patrol Officer Rashawn Rahim
- Patrol Officer Darryl Turner
All three officers named today were assigned to the Third District when the incident occurred. Their suspensions will begin at the start of their next tours of duty.
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