Staff file photo / R. Michael Semple Pastor Todd Johnson directs the local MLK Choir during practice on March 3, 2015.

WARREN — A member of the Warren Civil Service Commission who has been vocal about local issues of police conduct in his role as a leader of Warren’s Second Baptist Church does not see a conflict between the two roles.

The Rev. Todd Johnson, recently reappointed to the commission for a second six-year term, does not see a problem between his commission role and his community activism.

The commission is responsible for administering the testing process for entry-level and promotional positions within the Warren Police Department, Warren Fire Department and Warren City Schools; policy administration; and hearing disciplinary and protest appeals of classified members.

Johnson also is a member of local organizations Justice for Matt and IVote Black, both of which have advocated for police reform. IVote Black also addresses issues about voting rights and encourages voting participation.

Justice for Matt was formed shortly after the January 2019 shooting that resulted in the death of Niles resident Matthew Burroughs by Niles police officers. The grassroots organization sought to have the police officers involved in the shooting held accountable by going through a jury trial.

After investigations by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and by a Trumbull County grand jury, however, the county prosecutor’s office did not pursue charges.

Burroughs’ family has filed a civil lawsuit.

IVote Black was formed by some of the same people who came together in response to the Burroughs shooting. Its focus is primarily on advocating voting rights, but it’s also trying to address reform in the Warren Police Department.

The group recently sent a series of demands to Warren’s administration that include the purchase of body cameras for officers, the formation of a citizens review commission, a public demonstration of police chokeholds and a bi-annual release of police statistics.

Group members asked Warren Law Director Enzo Cantalamessa to reprimand, if not fire, attorney Tracy Timko Sabau, after a Facebook post appeared in which the longtime attorney suggested the community should not jump to the conclusion that officers are in the wrong in police-involved shootings.

The Facebook post sparked debate on Timko Sabau’s role as the city’s legal advisor to the department in the Justice Department’s reform package.

She eventually apologized. She was reprimanded and given a three-day unpaid suspension that could be reversed if she attends a Racial Equality Institute Seminar in Cleveland in August.

It was Timko Sabau’s three-day suspension that caused a Tribune Chronicle reader to question the fairness of her suspension for the a pro-police comment, when Johnson has been very visible leading protests against police misconduct.

“Where is the equal justice?” asks the reader.

Johnson said African-American pastors traditionally have been placed on the civil service commission in order to provide diverse views and different perspectives.

“My predecessors, Rev. Edgar Fisher (former pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Church) and Rev. Frank Hearns (former pastor at Second Baptist Church), and myself all have been involved in different organizations, including the NAACP and the A. Phillip Randolph Institute. Activism is nothing new.”

Johnson said his service on the civil service commission does not take away his right to have personal views on subjects.

“This is still America,” Johnson said. “I have a right to free speech. I have always welcomed dialogue and debate of ideas.”

Attorney Dan Letson, chairman of the Warren Civil Service Commission, said it is ridiculous for anyone to question Johnson’s position on the commission.

“Rev. Johnson is as important to the commission as any of its other members, including myself as an officer of the court (as a lawyer) or retired police officer like Mr. (John) DiCenso,” Letson said. DiCenso is a retired Warren police officer who also serves on the Warren’s Civil Service Commission. “I have no concern. He (Johnson) has been as dedicated to getting the best people on the department as any other member of the civil service commission.

“There have been no complaints from the department,” he said.

Councilwoman Helen Rucker, D-at Large, said the civil service commission should have members with diverse views and be willing to ask tough questions.

“If Rev. Johnson is talking about equality and justice on the police and fire departments, then what he is talking about falls right in line with the mission of the the civil service commission,” she said.

Rucker has been a longtime advocate of adding more women to the city’s fire department and more African Americans to the police department.

“I’ve gone before the commission many times, and I’ve never walked away feeling its members did not listen to what I’ve had to say,” she said.

Rucker emphasized the appointment to the commission is made by the mayor’s office.

Councilwoman Cheryl Saffold, D-6th Ward, said Johnson and others should continue to speak up pertaining to racism in the Mahoning Valley.

“His serving on the city of Warren Civil Service Commission has no bearing on his role as a minister and community activist,” Saffold said. “This is why we initiated the Warren City Council Racism Task Force, to deal with these types of issues in our community.”