Police union calls for hiring new officers

FOP: City needs replacements or face ‘staffing emergency’

The time is now for Lorain to begin hiring more police officers – or face a “staffing emergency,” according to the city’s police union.

The city is planning to hire five officers to replace five leaving or retiring, officials said.

Even so, the Fraternal Order of Police Lorain Lodge No. 3 is requesting a labor-management meeting to discuss the staff levels in the Police Department.

On Dec. 8, Lorain police union President Kyle Gelenius outlined his concerns in a letter to Safety-Service Director Dan Given and police Chief Cel Rivera.

The city administration on Nov. 28 authorized hiring five officers to replace five departing officers. The approval was based on a memorandum from Rivera to Given the day before.

“He did send a memo and it’s something we’re going to do,” Mayor Chase Ritenauer said, referring to the hiring of five new officers.

The Police Department is down to 96 officers.

But another two are getting ready to resign for other jobs and Officer Rick Broz, known for his work on animal control issues in the city, will retire in March, Gelenius said.

By March 2018, Lorain could be down to 94 officers, or 19 officers below the Police Department’s authorized strength, he said.

“If we lose any more officers, our department will again experience a staffing emergency,” Gelenius said.

Lorain’s hiring process has been extensive and unhurried as new officers complete training needed before they go on patrol, he said.

“For this reason, the FOP has stated on numerous occasions that officers should be hired to replace retiring personnel before they leave,” Gelenius wrote in his Dec. 8 letter.

“This is not to initiate ill will between our offices, rather to ensure that we both succeed in accomplishing the goals of our offices.

“Consequently, it is imperative that the Lorain Police Department hire additional qualified officers with a sense of urgency.”

Gelenius requested the city administration and Council consider these factors in budget deliberations scheduled to begin Dec. 11.