Thurs, 4:20 p.m.: Trumbull 911 director is fired
Trumbull County 911 Director Ernest Cook on Thursday was fired by Trumbull County commissioners after an executive session that lasted several hours.
Cook, 69, 7144 Wildwood Drive, Brookfield, last week had pleaded no contest to charges of loss of physical control under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor, and failure to report a July 2018 accident, a minor misdemeanor. Trumbull County Eastern District Judge Marty Nosich had found Cook guilty and on the first charge, gave him a suspended 180-day jail term; a $1,000 fine of which $500 was suspended; and placed him on a six-month probation. On the second charge, Cook was fined $150 plus $45 in court costs.
Cook, a former police chief in Brookfield and Vienna townships and former chief deputy with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office, was accused of being involved in a July 14, 2018, collision with a 17-year-old skateboarder on Crestwood Drive. Cook didn’t stop after the accident, the Ohio State Highway Patrol report states.
Commissioner Chairman Mauro Cantalamessa said on Thursday: “We moved to terminate (Cook) unanimously and effective immediately.”
Commissioners appointed Patty Goldner as interim 911 director.
For more details, see Friday’s edition of the Vindicator.