"Special" Justice for "special" people

Parma, Ohio Police Captain Kim Cornachio has pled no-contest to a disorderly conduct charge, stemming from a road-rage incident in which the off-duty cop sucker-punched a seventeen-year-old boy, leaving the kid with a black eye.

"Officer" Cornachio was fined a scant $150 by brutality enabler Judge Mark Hassett. Unbelievably, this is the only punishment that this thug seems to have received for his unprovoked assault on the teen driver, as there is no mention in the story of departmental discipline against Cornachio, which usually means that there wasn't any.

"The teen's mother said she wanted Cornachio charged with assault, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,500 fine. She accused prosecutors of minimizing the charge and going easy on a law enforcement officer. She called it blatant favoritism." (Emphasis mine)

I'd call it favoritism as well (along with a few more choice words, had that been my son that was attacked by Cornachio). As Jeffrey Quick notes, Judge Hassett should try sucker-punching a cop in the eye and see what he gets charged with. It won't be disorderly conduct, we can guarantee that.

The cop getting punched can even be off-duty, out of uniform and the aggressor in the incident and one will still catch felony charges, as that is exactly what happened to Martin Treptow of Coon Rapids, Minnesota after he defended himself and his family by shooting a road-raging Landen Beard, a similarly out-of-control off-duty Robbinsdale, Minnesota police officer who had all subsequent charges against him dropped despite a pile of evidence (including eyewitnesses) that points directly to Beard as the instigator of the traffic incident, not Treptow (Treptow's case is pending, and we are following it closely).

"Cornachio, 55, of Auburn, denied striking the teen but admitted to halting Zahn."

"Halting" the kid's eye with your fist doesn't count, sir.

"The 25-year police veteran said he acted because he witnessed Zahn driving erratically."

A motor offense "Officer" Cornachio knows a little something about:

"Cornachio has a history of problems while in the driver's seat. The Plain Dealer reported in 2002 that he had been involved in 11 crashes -- and found to be at fault in eight -- since joining Parma police. Twice, a police review board recommended he take defensive-driving courses."

"How many wrecks can a cop be responsible for and still keep his job at the Parma PD?"

More than eight, it seems.

Sadly, we now have to also ask "How many citizens can a cop brutally assault out of the blue and still keep his job at the Parma PD?

Even more sadly, more than one, it seems.