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Mount Prospect police officer suspended over traffic stop

Mount Prospect's Board of Fire and Police Commissioners has upheld the one-day suspension of a police officer accused of inappropriately ticketing a driver then misleading his supervisor about his actions.

Police Chief Tim Janowick initially imposed the suspension on Officer Seth Santi in July, finding that his actions violated police department general orders and rules.

“Officer Santi incorrectly issued a compliance citation to a motorist and then when questioned about the incident was not truthful with his supervisor, Commander (Edward) Szmergalski,” Janowick wrote in an order obtained by the Daily Herald through a Freedom of Information request.

After meeting in closed session last week, police and fire commissioners voted to deny Santi's appeal of the chief's ruling.

Santi could not be reached for comment.

According to Janowick's order, the suspension stems from a May 7 traffic stop Santi made on a vehicle pulling a trailer. The vehicle was stopped for multiple violations, one of which included unsafe equipment because a trailer brake line apparently was not attached properly, the order states.

After Santi issued a citation for the brake line violation, the driver got out of the vehicle and showed him that the line was in fact attached properly, according to the order.

“Officer Santi acknowledged this fact to the driver and instead of retracting the compliance ticket that was issued to the driver, Officer Santi instructed the driver to respond to the station to complete a departmental mediation report, to have the ticket ‘voided,'” the order states.

Santi later “was not truthful” when questioned by Szmergalski about the traffic stop, telling his supervisor that the driver fixed the violation on the scene, the order states.

Janowick, who declined to comment on Santi's record with the department, said his decision to suspend was based on “the totality of the circumstances, including a conversation with the officer.”

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