Soffredine Pleads

<p><em><a href="mailto:stephanlj@interlochen.org">By Linda Stephan</a></em></p> <p>A Traverse City officer who crashed his car in February has pleaded guilty to impaired driving. Joseph Soffredine was also sentenced Tuesday in county District Court. He'll be on probation, but he won't lose his license, and it also looks like he'll keep his job.</p> <p><strong>What happened</strong><br />Traverse City Police Chief Mike Warren describes Soffredine as an officer who has served the town well for 14 years. But Soffredine was suspended for 30 days without pay this spring, after an internal investigation over his actions while off-duty one night in early February.</p> <p>A bouncer at a downtown bar said Soffredine tried to grab him by the neck - that he missed his neck because he was too drunk. The bouncer told police another employee had to jump in to help him break free of Soffredine's grip. He was tossed out of Dillingers Pub, and he caused a raucous at another restaurant, too.</p> <p>Later that night, the off-duty cop would crash his car. </p> <p><strong>Just punishment?<br /></strong>"All of his actions on the night in question were investigated by the Traverse City Police Department," says Police Chief Mike Warren. "And the punishment that we gave Officer Soffredine on February 28th, after review, we felt was justified and nothing further is forthcoming."</p> <p>"I am not surprised by the police chief's decision," says Traverse City Mayor Chris Bzdok. "But I, and I think, the city commission are expecting the city manager to deal with this issue fairly, seriously and appropriately given the importance of the public's trust and confidence in the city and the city's police force."</p> <p>Beyond that statement, Bzdok says he's not legally allowed, as Mayor, to give an opinion on employee matters such as this one.</p> <p>The Mayor Pro Tem, Officer Soffredine's father, Ralph Soffredine, could not be immediately reached at his home Tuesday.</p> <p> The mayor and the commission set expectations for the city manager, who oversees the police department and Chief Warren. City Manager Ben Bifoss says he does plan to meet again with the police chief to discuss Officer Soffredine. But he also says he believes the department's original review of the case back in February was thorough, that the police chief was aware at the time that Soffredine had been drunk when he crashed his car. He also says, legally, the city has "severe limitations" on what it can do to punish the conduct of a cop who's not on duty.</p> <p><strong> Deputies' penalty more severe </strong><br />Two Grand Traverse County deputies lost their jobs over their actions that night. Mark Noffke and Robert Sillers admitted they should have done more to determine whether Soffredine was drunk, after he crashed his car. They didn't give him a breathalyzer. Both pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, and yesterday they were fined by the court for neglecting their duties.</p> <p>Traverse City Police Chief Mike Warren says he knows some people will question why Soffredine can keep his job, while the two deputies were fired. </p> <p>"I'm sure some will. But the activities that the sheriff's department employees were investigated for were not the activities that Officer Soffredine was investigated for," he says.</p> <p>Soffredine will serve a six-month probation, including alcohol testing, and four days of community service. But he will not spend time in jail. He will also be able drive to-and-from work, and in the course of his duties.</p> <p>Prosecutor Al Schneider says it's a typical sentencing for a first offense such as this one, but he's not sure he's satisfied. </p> <p>"It's hard to be satisfied with anything that's occurred in this case. It's unfortunate it happened the way that it did. It certainly could have been handled more appropriately, and it probably wouldn't have been as much news as it is," he says.</p>