The Chesterton
Police officer arrested last week on a charge of pointing a firearm at
another person has been placed on administrative leave without pay, pending
the disposition of the criminal charge.
At a special
meeting Wednesday evening, the Police Commission voted 3-0 to act on Police
Chief Dave Cincoski’s recommendation: placing Cpl. Joseph Kantowski on
administrative leave without pay but granting him all fringe
benefits--vacation, comp, and personal time--which he had earned up to the
point of his being arrested.
Kantowski--“as a
matter of course,” as Town Attorney Chuck Lukmann put it--will continue to
be covered under the town’s health insurance, as he remains a municipal
employee.
In placing
Kantowski on administrative leave, the commission was guided by Indiana Code
36-8-3-4(n), Lukmann noted: “If the member (of the police or fire
department) is subject to criminal charges, the board may place the member
on administrative leave until the disposition of the criminal charges in the
trial court. Any other action by the board is stayed until the disposition
of the criminal charges in the trial court. An administrative leave under
this subsection may be with or without pay, as determined by the board. If
the member is placed on leave without pay, the board, in its discretion, may
award back pay if the member is exonerated in the criminal matter.”
Although, Lukmann
said, the commission could opt to immediately pursue departmental
charges against Kantowski, he specifically advised against doing so. “Sure,
you could hold a disciplinary hearing,” he told members. “But the matter of
the hearing would be the same as the matter of the criminal charge and Cpl.
Kantowski’s attorney might tell him not to testify at a disciplinary
hearing, as doing so could jeopardize him in the criminal case. And then the
only evidence introduced at the disciplinary hearing would be against him.”
Lukmann called the
commission’s vote on Wednesday “an interim action” and said it was the best
move under the circumstances, inasmuch as members “have no way of knowing
whether Cpl. Kantowski did or didn’t do what he’s accused of.”
The criminal charge
could lead to a “full-blown trial,” it might be dismissed, it might be
plea-bargained. “You don’t know what form disposition will take and you
don’t know how long it will take,” Lukmann added. Should Kantowski be
convicted of the charge, the commission will have the opportunity at that
time to pursue a departmental charge against him. Should he be exonerated,
the commission will also have the opportunity to grant him back-pay. “This
interim action protects the department, it protects the public, and its
protects Cpl. Kantowski’s rights.”
“This was not an
easy decision,” Commission President Alex Rodriguez said after the vote. “I
want to wish Officer Kantowski and his family the best.”
Kantowski was
arrested early on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 17, following an argument
with his wife, who told investigators that she wanted to leave the house
and, when she refused to give Kantowski her car keys as he’d demanded, her
husband pointed a semi-automatic pistol at her.
Kantowski admitted
being angry during the argument but denied pointing a gun.
The case was
investigated by the Porter County Sheriff’s Police at Cincoski’s request.
The charge filed against Kantowski is a Level 6 felony punishable by a term
of six to 30 months.