2 weeks Ago
TWINSBURG, Ohio – Tensions flared at a recent Twinsburg City Council meeting, as Mayor Sam Scaffide delivered a pointed threat to residents who are pushing for transparency and accountability in city government. For months, a group of citizens have been demanding the release of public records they believe would validate allegations of corruption, sexual harassment and records tampering made by three former police officers. The allegations, detailed in an April lawsuit, have intensified claims of widespread government secrecy and corruption within the city.
However, at the Sept. 10 council meeting, Scaffide shifted from addressing those concerns to issuing a stark warning to the citizens themselves. Holding up a stack of papers, he implied that they contained personal information about some of the residents who are demanding transparency and that they might not want those details made public.
The mayor made it clear that releasing records could “be a two-edged sword,” and that those pushing for openness might end up regretting it if their own personal matters were exposed. “If you’re in a glass house, don’t throw stones,” Scaffide warned, adding, “Some people will be embarrassed, and they’ll be sorry with their requests, but everything’s coming out.” The lawsuit The controversy centers on a lawsuit filed in Summit County Court of Common Pleas by three former police officers, who accuse Police Chief Thomas Mason and other high-ranking officers of allowing corruption and misconduct to persist.
Former officer Daniel Fidoe claims in his complaint that he reported sexual harassment to a previous chief, who ignored the issue and launched an investigation to discredit him. Fidoe says he later helped fellow officer Olivia Bartulovic, another plaintiff, address ongoing harassment. In response, he claims, the city retaliated, tracking the pair to find reasons for disciplinary action.
A third plaintiff in the case, former officer Matthew Pfeifer, said that he had requested records related to a lieutenant’s pursuit of a suspect against department policy and unconstitutional use of force. The city denied the existence of key video footage, but Pfeifer later found it himself, according to the lawsuit. Pfeifer also claims he found evidence of misconduct, including tampering with records to protect Mason’s children from consequences related to underage drinking and drug-related incidents.
The three officers requested various records, including emails between Mason and the city’s IT staff, which they suspected were part of an effort to cover up evidence. Two days after filing those requests, the officers were placed on administrative leave. The complaint claims that the officers’ requests were repeatedly ignored or delayed, and department brass launched a campaign of retaliation that included false misconduct allegations.
Despite their leave, all three continued their investigations and requested many public records, ranging from internal correspondence to reports associated with the incidents involving Mason’s two children and documents related to the personal use of city-issued vehicles. All three officers have since been terminated from the police department. The lawsuit details how the former officers’ attorney, Brian Bardwell, visited City Hall and the police department to inspect or receive copies of the records in question, in accordance with Ohio’s open records law, but he was turned away without explanation.
The city denies all of the accusations in the complaint, but Bardwell claims the city is stalling, hoping the case will lose public attention. “No one’s going anywhere,” Bardwell told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, affirming the officers’ commitment to the legal battle.
Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer attempted to reach out to Scaffide and was told by a spokesperson that no one would be available to speak on the matter. Cleveland.
com also submitted public records requests for police reports and video from incidents related to the lawsuit. The requests have not been completely fulfilled as of Tuesday. The community’s response After learning about the lawsuit and the city’s handling of public records in the case, a group of Twinsburg residents came together to demand transparency within the police department and city government.
For the past few months, members of the group have displayed yard signs that say “release the records” throughout Twinsburg to raise awareness of the case. “These signs have done their job,” resident Colleen Rubin told cleveland.com .
“Nobody knew about all these lawsuits. ..
. The signs made people ask questions, and that’s what we wanted.” The group also has been regularly attending City Council meetings and confronting city leaders during the public comment portion.
Since Rubin began speaking during the meetings in May, more concerned citizens have joined her. During an Aug. 27 council meeting, Scaffide expressed frustration over the yard signs, calling them “unsightly” and accusing the residents of violating a city ordinance that prohibits signs on public property.
He said the signs that are posted, “often in the cover of night and on weekends,” are littering public spaces. Rubin and other residents argue that’s not the case. Rather, they claim, the city is removing the signs in an attempt to suppress their message and make it less impactful.
“We are following the ordinances, and they’re throwing the signs away anyway,” Rubin told cleveland.com . “And yes, they’re ugly.
They’re not meant to be pretty. Corruption is ugly.” The fight continues Bardwell said that many of his clients’ records requests are still unfulfilled or have been denied for “bogus” reasons, such as false claims of attorney-client privilege, clarity issues about the requests or claims that the records don’t exist.
Of those that have been released, Bardwell said many are so heavily redacted that they’re unusable. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 3, when the plaintiffs say they will continue to push for the release of all relevant records.
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m. “The only way that we can make sure [abuse of power] doesn’t happen is if we have the press and the public out there banging on their doors, showing up at these meetings and demanding to see these records so we know what’s actually going on and can hold these people to account.” Bardwell said that any government agency facing such accusations should be eager to release records to clear its name.
“Governments don’t hide records because they’re carefully exercising power,” he said. “They hide their records because they know they’re filled with stuff that is going to be used against them.”.
