First Posted: 1/9/2015
Four West Pittston Borough police officers were suspended for leaving the borough while on duty, sources told the Times Leader on Wednesday.
One of those officers, Michael Turner, received a 13-day suspension for being out of jurisdiction no fewer than 14 times, sources said.
Efforts to confirm the nature of the suspensions with West Pittston Borough Solicitor Mark Bufalino were not immediately successful on Wednesday.
In response to previous questions about the suspensions put to him on Tuesday night, Bufalino said: “We cannot comment because it is a personnel issue.”
Bufalino did, however, note that the minutes from council’s Dec. 23 special meeting confirmed the suspensions — in addition to 13 days for Turner, officer Tony Calabro was suspended for two days, while officers Ryan Kachinsky and Ryan Foy each received one-day suspensions, all effective Jan. 2.
County employees
In addition to their duties in West Pittston, Foy is a lieutenant with the Luzerne County Sheriff’s Office, while Calabro works as a county deputy sheriff.
Calabro was hired by the county in June, and Foy has been working for the county for several years, according to records reviewed by Times Leader.
County Sheriff Brian Szumski said he was aware of the matter in West Pittston, but was consulting with the county solicitor’s office before offering any public comment.
According to previous Times Leader reports, Kachinsky was hired as a part-time West Wyoming officer in February 2013, and was still listed on the payroll there on last month’s treasurer’s report.
Gun safety questions
Exeter Borough surveillance video received by Times Leader, and posted to the Internet on Tuesday, shows a number of police officers inside the Exeter Borough building. The 17-minute video, which carries a date stamp of Jan. 6, 2014, includes an image of an officer, identified by a source as Turner, waving a gun inside the building.
In conversations with a reporter this week, Turner’s attorney, Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., would not confirm whether or not his client had been suspended, but emphatically stated: “Michael Turner was not suspended or disciplined for any violation of firearms policy.”
In a WBRE-TV television interview on Wednesday, Olszewski could be heard saying that the gun was not loaded, and that his client never pointed the gun at anyone.
But many who saw the surveillance video posted at timesleader.com asked whether having a gun unholstered and in his hands, in the way Turner appears to have done, would be a safe and appropriate practice.
Times Leader reporters consulted several firearms websites and spoke with two area weapons experts, one in southern Luzerne County and one in the Poconos, who discussed best practices regarding the handling of guns. Both men asked to remain anonymous, based on the nature of their businesses.
“The only reason you take that firearm out is in defense of yourself or defense of a third party,” said the Pocono-area instructor.
“That is the court of last resort. You don’t have that firearm out unless you absolutely have to,” added the instructor, adding that he had not seen the video and could not comment on the specifics of the Exeter video as he did not know what circumstances may lay behind the incident.
The other instructor stressed that one of the first things firearm students are taught is to not point a firearm at others. That behavior, the instructor said, often results in careless shooters being removed from the range.
Whether or not the gun was loaded was not the point, he said.
“That doesn’t matter,” the instructor said, adding that those trained how to properly handle a firearm “assume that it’s loaded.”
The National Rifle Association (NRA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) each echo the instructors’ comments. On each of the organizations’ websites is a list of firearm safety tips.
The first one on each list? Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.
“From minute one, we teach people not to point a gun at anyone,” the instructor said. “You don’t play with guns. That’s how people die.”
