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Greater WB Friendly Sons host ex-Eagles coach Vermeil

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Troopers: Drinking preceded family fight, stabbing death

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Almost eight months after an arbitrator reduced officer Marc Labar&#8217;s suspension for using excessive force on a female prisoner, the city policeman has yet to be reimbursed for extra time already served or advised of the status of a federal grand jury investigating his actions.</p><p>But that reimbursement will pale in comparison to what the city has spent on the case.</p><p>Labar served five days off without pay in 2016, before the police union filed a grievance that made its way to arbitration. Last July, an arbitrator determined Police Chief Marcella Lendacky went too far in disciplining the officer and shortened his suspension to two days.</p><p>&#8220;The city recently approved our request to have Officer Labar reimbursed the three days,&#8221; Sgt. Phil Myers, president of the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association, said in an email Friday. &#8220;However, it has not yet been paid.&#8221;</p><p>The cost for those days will be hundreds of dollars &#8212; far less than the $17,632 that the city spent on labor relations in the Labar case, according to the city finance department.</p><p>&#8220;I would estimate his daily salary at less than $280 per day,&#8221; Myers said.</p><p>The PBA spent approximately $4,800 compared to the city, he noted.</p><p><strong>Grand jury status?</strong></p><p>Myers also acknowledged the union doesn&#8217;t know where the grand jury investigation stands.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m assuming it&#8217;s still ongoing,&#8221; added Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George. The mayor said the city has not been notified of the status of the investigation he confirmed was underway last summer.</p><p>The July 31, 2017, ruling of arbitrator Ralph Colflesh Jr. corroborated George&#8217;s statement that the video from police headquarters involving Labar and the woman was referred to the Luzerne County District Attorney&#8217;s Office. &#8220;No criminal prosecution has resulted from that referral,&#8221; the ruling stated.</p><p>But that was not the end of the line, as District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis contacted the FBI.</p><p>&#8220;As a matter of policy, the Department of Justice will neither confirm nor deny the existence of any ongoing investigation,&#8221; said Dawn Mayko, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.</p><p><strong>Incident reviewed</strong></p><p>The woman detained by police on March 13, 2016, has not filed a complaint against Labar or the city. Colflesh&#8217;s ruling identified her as Donetta White and said charges of public drunkenness, marijuana possession, providing a false name to law enforcement, terroristic threats and resisting efforts to process her were eventually dropped after she was ruled incompetent.</p><p>Colflesh sided with the city and police administration that Labar was too aggressive with White in getting her into a holding cell at police headquarters.</p><p>The city initiated a review by Commander Joseph Coffay of how Labar handled White. Based on the video and a review of reports filed by Labar, Coffay concluded Labar used unnecessary violence against White.</p><p>According to the arbitrator&#8217;s ruling: White refused to comply with Labar&#8217;s commands that she take off her shoes before going into a holding cell. Labar forcefully struck her with a push or shove before taking her to the floor with a leg sweep, removing her shoes and dragging her into the cell.</p><p>Rookie Officer Sara Chmielewski was directed to assist Labar in the cell area, but her actions were not subject to the review.</p><p>The PBA argued Labar&#8217;s actions were appropriate and that he was treated unfairly for doing exactly what other officers &#8212; who have not been disciplined &#8212; also do. The union called Sgt. Charles Balon of the Bloomsburg Police Department as an expert witness in the use of force for municipal police.</p><p>Balon determined Labar&#8217;s use of force was acceptable. The strike by Labar that sent White into or toward a wall offered the officer the &#8220;most beneficial&#8221; opportunity to execute a takedown.</p><p>Labar defended his actions, but admitted White did not actively fight him. He took her down because he saw a tactical opportunity to do so.</p><p>Labar further explained his actions, saying that under the circumstances, he believed White&#8217;s &#8220;passive resistance&#8221; in not complying with his commands amounted to &#8220;active resistance,&#8221; behavior that, under department policy, permits him to use force.</p><p>Colflesh agreed White was defiant and disruptive but was not attacking Labar. Given those facts, Labar&#8217;s actions were inappropriate, Colflesh said.</p><p><strong>Mitigating factors</strong></p><p>But Colflesh found there were other factors that mitigated the city&#8217;s discipline: White was not injured and Labar had no prior misconduct.</p><p>Labar&#8217;s actions were the result of &#8220;a performance failure and not a moral failure.&#8221; The appropriate discipline &#8220;is some loss of pay to enforce the seriousness of the act and an accompanying requirement of some remediation at the officer&#8217;s expense,&#8221; Colflesh said.</p><p>He suggested that if the city wanted to, it could order Labar to attend three days of training in the use of force with a recognized instructor, on his own time, and at his own expense.</p><p>Myers said that shortly after the arbitration award Labar participated in the department&#8217;s annual training.</p><p>&#8220;He has not been ordered to attend training specific to the arbitration award,&#8221; Myers added.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Mayor-Tony-George-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Mayor-Tony-George-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Lendacky-thumbnail-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre City Police Department Chief Marcella Lendacky</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_Lendacky-thumbnail-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes-Barre City Police Department Chief Marcella Lendacky</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WB police officer awaiting arbitration pay, grand jury status