TRAVERSE CITY —
Mike Pipho wants to present two pictures of his granddaughter to Traverse City Police Chief Michael Warren and officer Joseph L. Soffredine.
Pipho's granddaughter, Savannah, 2, was on life-support for five weeks last summer after a drunken driver crashed into her parents' vehicle.
Savannah recovered, but Pipho hopes the photos will remind city police of the dangers of driving drunk.
Soffredine last week pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of impaired driving after an alcohol-fueled, off-duty crash early Feb. 7. Two county deputies tried to help Soffredine avoid detection for drunken driving, and subsequent probes of all three officers led to criminal charges against them.
The deputies were fired, but Soffredine kept his job.
"Shame on you, Traverse City," said Pipho, a truck driver from Maple City in Leelanau County. "If they don't fire (Soffredine), I will have no trust in the city police, no respect. Somebody's got to light a fire here."
Traverse City Mayor Chris Bzdok said the city hasn't "closed the book" on the issue.
The city commission is barred by charter from dictating Soffredine's discipline, Bzdok said, but he wants more information. He'll put the question of possible preferential treatment for police on the commission's June meeting agenda.
Soffredine crashed his SUV into a ditch shortly after 3 a.m. Feb. 7 after a night of drinking in Traverse City bars. A security video showed him swaying back and forth at the House of Doggs restaurant on Union Street about an hour before the crash. Soffredine then lunged at a customer, grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him against a bar stool.
Warren in late February suspended Soffedine for four weeks.
"We had knowledge early on that he had been drinking throughout the evening," Warren said. "Whether he was to the point of being impaired, I don't know."
'Never been proved'
Soffredine eventually was charged with drunken driving and on May 25 pleaded guilty to impaired driving. He was sentenced to six months probation and four days of community service.
Warren said the alcohol conviction did not warrant further discipline.
"It's never been proved he was driving impaired; he pled out to that," Warren said.
Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies Robert Sillers and Mark Noffke responded to the crash, and later admitted they didn't give Soffredine field sobriety or other alcohol tests because he was a police officer. The deputies also failed to cite Soffredine for driving with expired license plates.
They pleaded guilty to neglect of duty and were fined. Sheriff Tom Bensley fired them May 6.
Area residents praised Bensley and expressed anger and disappointment over the city's handling of Soffredine, whose father Ralph is a city commissioner and former longtime police chief.
"Now that he's gotten away with it, who's to say he won't cause chaos again?" said Kimberley Nash, of Long Lake Township. "The road he had his accident on is the road to my house, and who's to say he wouldn't have killed my son or somebody else? With these kids getting killed in accidents lately ... what kind of message does that send?"
Whitney Chrestensen, of Traverse City, called Soffredine's behavior "completely unacceptable.
"If he had been a regular Joe he would have been in a lot more trouble," she said.
Residents also questioned Soffredine's ability to be effective and fair when he comes into contact with potential drunken drivers.
"It doesn't seem right that he's back on patrol and pulling people over and putting them in jail for the same thing he did," said Nita Finch, who was in a vehicle Soffredine illegally passed just before his crash.
Slap on wrist?
City Commissioner Jim Carruthers said he's heard from residents who believe Soffredine received a "slap on the wrist.
"How are we supposed to respect law enforcement if we let law enforcement get away with the same things they arrest us for?" Carruthers said. "The cops, judges, officials in this town, they get away with stuff that average citizens would lose licenses or go to jail for."
Jeff Burdick, of Traverse City, said Soffredine should have been fired. He and several other residents question whether Soffredine received preferential treatment because of his job, or because of his father's influence.
Bzdok said he does not believe Ralph Soffredine interfered on his son's behalf, but he has questions about Warren's efforts.
"It's essential the police department handle issues like this with a maximum of transparency, deliberation and thoroughness," Bzdok said. "I'm not convinced by what I've seen that that's what occurred."
Bzdok said he's troubled by a public statement Warren issued shortly after Soffredine was sentenced.
"It appeared to be very PR-focused toward the officer who pled out, and I don't think that inspires public confidence," Bzdok said. "The city commission needs to discuss what are the policies that are in place to prevent preferential treatment or the appearance of preferential treatment to ensure to the public that these things are handled fairly."
Warren acknowledged he reviewed his statement with Joseph Soffredine before its release, but declined to respond to Bzdok's criticism.
"I'm not going to argue with the major," Warren said.
Carruthers said he was warned by Warren's boss, City Manager Ben Bifoss, not to interfere in discipline matters, and was informed doing so could violate city charter and result in a criminal misdemeanor.
"I wasn't ordering him to do anything," Carruthers said. "We're getting a lot of bad press as a city, and I asked, 'What are you doing about it?' I've been told, 'Nothing.'"
'Let him go on with his life'
Not all city commissioners agree there's a problem.
"I don't think the city looks better or worse, to be honest," Commissioner Mike Gillman said. "This is an individual who erred... . He's taken a pretty good hit, and it's time to get the teeth out of his butt and let him go on with his life."
Bifoss said Soffredine's actions tarnished the city's reputation, but he's "satisfied" with Warren's efforts.
The "industry standard" for police discipline is either a maximum suspension of 30 days or termination, Bifoss said. He said termination was not "reasonable," and he didn't believe an arbitrator would uphold Soffredine's firing.
Bifoss last week wrote to city commissioners that he is: "sympathetic to the public's desire that police officers not receive preferential treatment and agree that the 'blue wall' must be torn down.
But Bifoss said he doesn't know how to begin such an undertaking.
"I need to review that with the chief," he said.
