Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Traverse County

March 11, 2010

3:20pm: Soffredine sanctioned for incident

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY

TRAVERSE CITY -- The Traverse City Police Department suspended Officer Joseph Soffredine without pay retroactive to Feb. 28 for a late night incident that occurred in a downtown restaurant.

Police Chief Mike Warren informed Soffredine, 38, of his decision Thursday afternoon. Warren declined to detail the length of the suspension or other sanctions the department took against Soffredine.

Warren said their internal investigation uncovered nothing to warrant the filing of a criminal complaint against Soffredine.

"We had an incident, we tracked down numerous people, we talked to them, and some of the conduct that night was the kind that won't be tolerated by the department," Warren said. "This is not only a punishment, but an effort by the department to correct this type of behavior to make sure we don't have it occur again."

Warren declined to discuss the "behavior" or details of the incident late Feb. 6 at the House of Doggs on Union Street in Traverse City. He confirmed Soffredine had been drinking alcohol but said he doesn't know if he was intoxicated at the time.

City police placed Soffredine on paid suspension Feb. 18 after reports surfaced of an incident inside the House of Doggs. The incident happened a few hours before Soffredine ran his Dodge Durango off Cedar Run Road in Garfield Township at about 3:20 a.m. on Feb. 7.

He subsequently overheated and ignited his vehicle by continually revving the accelerator in an attempt to free himself.

The Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department continues to investigate the Cedar Run incident and is expected to take action against Soffredine next week.

Soffredine, 38, the son of longtime city police chief and current city Commissioner Ralph Soffredine, did not respond to messages seeking comment.''

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