Police Find No Wrongdoing in Off-Duty Officers' Recall Efforts

Two officers were not doing anything wrong when they were trying to collect signatures door-to-door last month as part of an effort to recall two township officials, police said.

Shelby Township Supervisor Richard Stathakis ordered acting Chief of Police Roland Woelkers to launch the investigation after resident David Fulkerson came to a trustee meeting on March 1 and accused the officers of political intimidation.

“I reviewed the investigation and attachments and was also briefed by Capt. (Stephen) Stanbury and Sgt. (Jeff) Daniel on their investigation, and concur with their conclusions that the officers' actions were found to be both lawful and proper and in no way reflected poorly on the department,” Woelkers said in his report.

Fulkerson told the board that on Feb. 27, two men came to his house on the 49000 block of Shelby Creek Drive and asked if he wanted to sign a recall petition targeting Stathakis and Treasurer Paul Viar.  Fulkerson said the men identified themselves as off-duty officers who were representing the police union as private citizens.

The officers, later identified as patrolmen Scott Phelps and Kevin Treworgy, said they were trying to recall Stathakis and Viar for several reasons, including the rezoning of land on 24 Mile and Schoenherr and 22 Mile roads, and the construction of a new $4 million police station.

“Asking me to sign the recall petitions and letting me know he worked for the police raised concerns for me if this is appropriate behavior. By my standards, this was not acceptable as there seemed to be a conflict of authority and power here,” Fulkerson told the board.

Fulkerson said that he had an emotional response to the men representing themselves as officers, and according to the investigation, Fulkerson told the men he wasn’t going to sign the petition and told them to, “get off my (expletive) property.”

As Phelps and Treworgy left Fulkerson’s home and walked to neighbors' homes on their quest for signatures, Fulkerson shouted at one neighbor and told him not to sign the petition because "these guys are a bunch of (expletive) communists, socialist, liars," Fulkerson told investigators.

Police interviewed two neighbors who said they witnessed the exchange between the three men. The investigators said witnesses told them that at no point did they feel threatened by the men collecting signatures.

Fulkerson then got into his vehicle and continued to yell at the officers while attempting to take their pictures, according to the investigation. Treworgy told Fulkerson that if he continued to follow the men, he would file a harassment complaint with the police department.

Treworgy and Phelps said they decided to leave the area and collect signatures in the area of Millis and Remer streets, according to the investigation, and Fulkerson called Viar and told him about the off-duty officers' recall efforts.

A little while later, while Treworgy and Phelps continued to collect signatures, Viar drove up in a white Impala and shouted at the officers, accusing them of harassing citizens, and snapped a picture of the men, according to the investigation report.

Investigators said the off-duty officers acted in a professional manner and decided to stop collecting signatures for the day after the confrontation with Viar.

During their investigation, police asked Fulkerson about his relationship with Viar and Stathakis. Fulkerson told investigators that he does not have a personal relationship with either official, but he did support their campaigns. He added that in 2008, Viar had asked him to become a candidate for the Planning Commission, but he declined.

“Treworgy and Phelps demonstrated excellent self control, so as not to be baited into any arguments by Fulkerson or Viar,” investigator Stanbury said in his report.

The off-duty officers have argued that just because they work for the police department, they should not be denied their right to participate in the political process.

“I believe Mr. Fulkerson was interfering with my constitutional right … and that Mr. Viar also interfered with that process and was using his position as the township treasurer to intimidate and harass me in order to get me to stop circulating the petitions for his recall and as well as Mr. Stathakis' recall,” Treworgy said in a statement to police.

Several Shelby officials have been facing recall efforts prompted by varying groups of residents and officials. The include Stathakis, Viar, trustee Lisa Manzella, trustee Michael Flynn and trustee Douglas Wozniak.

At one point in 2010, all seven board members were subjects of active recall efforts, including some on multiple occasions.