The above photo is one of several taken by Spanos during the August 8 incident with Mayor Whitfield

Elyria Police Chief Bill Pelko confirmed this morning that he was contacted by Mayor Frank Whitfield’s staff regarding an alleged altercation between Whitfield and City of Elyria employee, Carl Spanos. The incident took place at the Black River Reservation on August 8, 2023, during a city event.

The Chronicle-Telegram first reported the incident after obtaining a letter to Spanos from Safety Service Director Matt Lundy. In the letter, Lundy directs Spanos to attend a pre-disciplinary hearing on August 16, 2023, to respond to allegations of “harassment and intimidation” directed at Whitfield and his two young children.

The letter states that, upon seeing Whitfield exit a city vehicle at the Black River Reservation, Spanos began taking photos of the mayor and his children. When Whitfield “engaged” Spanos in conversation, Spanos stated he “believed the mayor had been engaging in the use of government resources (the vehicle) for improper political purposes.” Lundy’s letter continues, stating, “The Mayor requested that you stop taking pictures of his children, but you continued.”

You can read the full letter here.

According to Lundy, when questioned the following day about the incident, Spanos was “dishonest” in stating he was only trying to take photos of a sign in the grass. “However, an examination of the photos you took does not show a sign in the grass, which evidences the photos were taken for another purpose and that you were also being dishonest in this regard,” Lundy writes.

It is unclear how Lundy obtained the photos from Spanos’ phone. Through a public records requests I was sent the photos, which you can view here. The story, with Chief Pelko’s involvement, continues below.

The letter goes on. “The actions described above evidences harassment and intimidating conduct towards the mayor and his children,” Lundy writes. “Additionally, when initially questioned regarding your actions, you were dishonest in your response.” Lundy concludes that these offenses could warrant discipline, including suspension without pay, and that Spanos is required to attend the pre-disciplinary hearing on August 16 to answer the allegations.

The day after the incident, Lundy and Human Resources Director Jean Yousefi “questioned” Spanos about his behavior. Moments prior to this meeting, we now know Lundy and Yousefi spoke with Chief Pelko regarding possible legal action.

On August 9th, Pelko was in City Hall attending to an unrelated matter. Upon seeing Pelko, Lundy asked him to step into an office with Yousefi and began laying out the events of the previous meeting. Lundy then asked the Chief if legal action could be taken against Spanos. “I listened to what he was asking and, to me, I didn’t see anything illegal. And that’s what I told them,” Pelko told me.

“People come to us all the time asking if this or that is illegal. It’s not uncommon. Not everyone knows the details of every law, so we are always happy to help answer those questions when we can,” Pelko said.

Pelko was then asked to attend that first meeting with Lundy, Yousefi, and Spanos but his schedule prevented him from doing so. Later, Lundy asked Pelko to contact Spanos. “He wanted me to call him (Spanos). I said, again, I didn’t see anything illegal here, but they wanted me to a have conversation with him. They wanted me to talk to him, so I gave him a call,” Pelko told me.

The phone call, according to Pelko, was brief. “We talked a bit. Again, I told him the same thing I told them (Lundy and Yousefi), that I didn’t think anything illegal took place. I just asked him to be careful, something like that,” he told me.

Having been informed by the Police Chief that the incident did not rise to a legal matter, it remains unclear why Lundy urged Pelko to place the call. Six days later, on August 15, Lundy wrote the letter to Spanos accusing him of “harassment and intimidation.”

No charges have been filed against Spanos.

Spanos was not “on the clock” at the time of the incident, according to multiple city hall sources. Still, Lundy and Yousefi are now overseeing the investigation to determine what, if any, disciplinary steps will be taken against Spanos.

When I requested further documents related to the incident Yousefi replied, “The matter has not been resolved” therefore no further information is available at this time and, “The discipline has not yet been delivered.” When I reached Lundy for comment he replied, “This is a personnel matter. We do not discuss personnel matters.” Mayor Whitfield has not responded to a request for comment.

A final disciplinary hearing was scheduled for 8:00 am this morning. I am told union officials representing Spanos requested the hearing be rescheduled to 2:00 p.m. to allow for more time review the situation.

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