Officer punished for ticketing school principal

WARREN, Ohio — Police officials say a elementary school principal in Ohio had a school resource officer kicked off campus for doing his job. He wrote her a ticket for parking in a handicapped zone on campus, something police say he had warned her about multiple times before.

"What example is that for the children? Oh, you get a certain status in life you don't have to follow the rules?" city law director Greg Hicks told WJW.

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Hicks said that Principal Carrie Boyer's vehicle was illegally parked in a striped access area. "That allows a handicapped person access, particularly if any specialized equipment for mobility, to get in and out of their vehicle and to be able to use the space appropriately." According to Hicks, Boyer's vehicle was parked in the same spot Wednesday morning.

School resource officer Adam Chinchic wrote her a $100 ticket after warning her about parking there numerous times. "He at least three times, that I've been told, at least three times says 'You can't park there that's part of the handicapped area, please don't park there anymore.' And yet, she just defied him," said Hicks.

The law director says when Boyer found out she was ticketed, she became upset. "The principal notified the superintendent, the superintendent then had the police officer removed from the premises by their administrative staff for doing his job."

Warren schools superintendent Steve Chiaro did not address the situation specifically. But he did release a statement which reads in part: "it is our belief that an individual event or series of events should never impede on what we have accomplished or affect the positive rapport and interactions our students and staff experience with our officers each day."

"For that principal to totally disregard, after numerous warnings, would be a horrible example to set for the young people she's supposed to be there influencing," said Hicks.

Chinchic has worked at the school for two years. He is still on the city police force, which hopes to get him back to his post at the school.

CNN/WJW