WARREN, Ohio (March 31) - A part-time police chief has been suspended after a lawsuit accused him of assaulting a teenager by paddling the boy as part of a crime diversion program for a speeding ticket.
Carol Woolf of Vienna said she initially agreed to let her 16-year-old son be paddled, then refused to have him return for 14 more sessions because of the welts he suffered.
''This child is traumatized,'' Woolf said.
James Martin was suspended as part-time police chief of Fowler Township and also as a full-time police officer in nearby Howland Township, pending investigations by state officials and the FBI. No charges have been filed.
Howland Township disciplined the officer more than a decade ago after he admitted paddling about 20 juveniles. The townships are suburbs of Warren, about 70 miles southeast of Cleveland.
Woolf's $200,000 lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Youngstown, names Martin and three Fowler trustees as defendants.
Woolf said Martin told her that her son Richard's participation in a juvenile diversion program that included paddling would make his speeding ticket ''go away.''
She said Martin told her the program involved 23 rules that her son had to follow and that there would be 15 paddling sessions.
She said that during the first session in January, at the police station, her son was struck three times on the bare buttocks with a wooden paddle.
''When Ritchie came out, he was hysterical,'' Woolf said Tuesday. ''Never have I seen that child cry like he cried.''
There was no immediate comment from Martin. His attorney, Randall Weltman, said Martin wanted to let the investigation take its course.
Township trustees didn't immediately comment on the lawsuit.
03-31-04 1344EST
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
This is a case of a Sadist put in a position where he can abuse teens under the guise of preventing future speeding tickets.
I was a naughty little brat, and I needed to be taught a lesson. Officer Martin taught me respect and discipline, I certainly won,t be breaking the law again. Now he's been found innoccent of assault, I'll be going back for the rest of my swats.
pro spank
Fair verdict
October 25 2005, 2:46 AM
This punishment should be used nationwide. These kids were out of control.Someone needed to give them the discipline they weren't getting from there parents. Police chief Martin gave them rules to abide by and checked there progress with there parents.
Some of the rules were:Be honest, be polite, no alcohol, respect your parents, arrive home by curfew, no baggy clothing. In order for these rules to be effective a prolonged period of 15 spankings was nesscessary. An isolated punishment would not have instilled obedience. As for the complaint that the young men were too old to be spanked, I think that was the point. They were going round acting like complete brats, believing that they would never be spanked again in their lifes. Being told to "bend over and grab your ankles" by a police officer would have filled them with a sense of submission and humiliation, that will ensure they are never arrogant or cocky to authority again.
At the court case the young men who had completed the program and their parents took the stand, and testified that their behaviour had improved substantially. The Judge and Jury agreed with me (and disagreed with many posts here). Martin was found innocent of assault and walked free. I would love to have seen the brats faces as the verdict was read out. Having gone through the degradation of describing their spankings to the world, and then having them shown on video for everyone to see, they were told by a court of law that they deserved everything they got.
Jason
Simple, simplistic...what a simpleton!
October 25 2005, 2:58 AM
Pro Spank...offering simplistic advice as solutions to complex world problems! Who needs to have a thought in your head when you have a paddle?