EUCLID, Ohio – The special prosecutor who will determine if a Euclid patrolman should face misdemeanor charges in the beating of a motorist has often served as a defense attorney for police officers accused of misconduct, a review of his record shows.
Dominic Vitantonio, the Mayfield Heights attorney the city of Euclid hired to investigate officer Michael Amiott’s conduct during the controversial 2017 arrest of Richard Hubbard III, has often represented officers under scrutiny. His notable clients include a Hudson officer who fatally shot an Emirati man during a struggle off the Ohio Turnpike, and a Montville Township officer whose K-9 partner died after being left in a hot cruiser.
Vitantonio, who declined to comment on the Euclid case or his prior history of representing police, has been a defense attorney for at least a dozen Ohio law enforcement officers accused of misconduct since 2004, a review of cleveland.com archives, court records and other news outlets shows.
Critics said hiring a special prosecutor who has previously defended police officers raises inherent conflict-of-interest concerns. Cassandra McDonald, the president of the Euclid branch of the NAACP, said the hiring creates a perception of bias from the outset of the investigation.
“There’s definitely a lack of accountability,” McDonald said. “For them to hire someone that is already in favor of officers, simply by what they have been known to do [in their career], the bias is already presented.”
Euclid Assistant Law Director Laura Kramer Rubadue defended the city’s selection, and said police officers represent only a fraction of the clients Vitantonio has defended during a career that spans nearly three decades.
“We think he is going to look at the facts of the case objectively,” she said. “He’s a very well-respected defense attorney.”
Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail, who fired Amiott before an arbitrator ruled last year that he should be reinstated, declined through a secretary to comment on the selection of the special prosecutor. Euclid Law Director Kelley Sweeney could not be reached for comment.
Hubbard’s attorney, Christopher McNeal, had little reaction to Euclid’s hiring of Vitantonio, but said the hiring of a special prosecutor is “indicative that the city is listening to the wishes of its constituents.”
McNeal said he is more focused on a federal lawsuit Hubbard filed against the city and its police department.
“We are optimistic and hopeful that justice will be served in full measure,” he said.
Vitantonio has represented police officers accused of a range of crimes, including misuse of a law enforcement database, stalking and theft.
One of his most notable clients, Hudson police officer Ryan Doran, never faced criminal charges. A Summit County grand jury declined to indict Horan in connection with the Dec. 4, 2016 shooting death of an Emirati man who was law student at Case Western Reserve University.
Doran found Saif Nasser Mubarak Alameri in a wooded area shortly after the 26-year-old man crashed his car on the Ohio Turnpike. Alameri was unarmed when Doran shot him during a struggle, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation said.
During the investigation, Vitantonio castigated Case Western Reserve University professors Lewis R. Katz and Michael J. Benza for suggesting in a public letter than Alameri’s ethnicity played a role in his death.
"Their claim of a 'flaw' in the investigation is complete nonsense and their claim about some role of 'ethnicity' is complete and utter speculation," Vitantonio wrote in a letter he shared with cleveland.com.
Vitantonio also defended Montville Township police Sgt. Brett Harrison, whose K-9 Beny died of heatstroke in 2013 after being left in a police cruiser for more than four hours. A Medina Municipal Court judge found Harrison guilty of one count of companion animal cruelty and ordered him to pay a $500 fine.
Vitantonio did not dispute the facts of the case during Harrison’s trial. But he argued Beny’s death was an accident, saying Harrison thought he left the air conditioning on in the police cruiser.
Vitantonio has also defended a former Moreland Hills police chief accused of misusing a police database; a Lyndhurst officer who overdosed on drugs he stole from a police department evidence room; and a Brook Park officer suspended for violating work policies after a traffic violation.
He also defended the Mayfield Heights Police Department’s use of fake drug checkpoints to search motorists and their vehicles while he served as that city’s assistant prosecutor in 2013. Experts told The Plain Dealer at the time that the practice was legal.
Vitantonio is now tasked with decided whether Amiott should face misdemeanor charges in connection with the violent Aug. 12, 2017 arrest of Hubbard, which made national headlines. Misdemeanor offenses carry a two-year statute of limitations, so Vitantonio must make a decision on whether to file charges by Aug. 12.
Video of the controversial arrest showed Amiott knee Hubbard, tackle him to the ground and punch Hubbard in the face and body several times. Another officer used his Taser on Hubbard during the encounter.
Hubbard was initially charged with resisting arrest, driving without a license and a traffic signal violation in the case.
A special prosecutor later filed a motion to dismiss the charges, saying she believed it "was the appropriate thing" to do. A Euclid judge subsequently granted the motion and dismissed the case.
The city of Euclid fired Amiott in the wake of the incident, but an arbitrator overturned the firing and ordered the city to give Amiott’s job back.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley decided earlier this year not to bring a felonious assault charge against Amiott, saying he believed prosecutors could not prove Hubbard suffered “serious physical injuries.” But he said his office is working with U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman’s office to decide whether to pursue federal charges against Amiott.
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