If any of you have had contact with
officers of the police department that have left or, are leaving you will have
heard that they are tired of the disparage treatment by management. I have been gone four years because of
continual harassment and mistreatment. I made good decisions but, when the
mistreatment started I could not do anything right. I finally made err in judgment.
I am paying dearly for it with my disease. I am also still in litigation with the City I will go no further.
I know the stress these guys are under and I am not surprised the
Governor has not stepped in and filled the streets with State Patrol and GBI
agents.
At
the time of this writing the department is pulling detectives from their duties
to work the streets. This leaves investigations at a standstill. Your burglary
that may have been solved will be put on the in-active list because that
detective could not do his job. Officers are forced to work overtime which
causes even more stress and fatigue. To top it off an ass chewing by one of the
command staff daily is common. The command staff is on the third floor. I have been
told by more than one current and numerous former employees that no one is
allowed on the third floor for one reason alone and that is punishment. The
Ivory tower effect.
I
have taught classes in many states and cities on internal affairs. The biggest
complaint was not the IA end of it but, the punishment was not consistent with
the violation. I would have to say the following that occurred at Douglasville –
one of many that I will share tops the most outrageous I have ever heard of in
any state, city, or county. Not only the incident that happened but, the cover-up
afterwards.
Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council licenses officers and determines their fitness for duty. If an officer is demoted the Department and the officer are bound by POST rules which are law. The
following comes from the investigative file I obtained from (POST):
In or about February of 2010,
the CEO ordered an internal investigation after it was brought to his attention
the officer had violated the Use of Force policy on
two separate occasions.
On or about 12/14/09,
officers responded to a Burglary in progress. The offender was
resisting as the officers
were attempting to handcuff him. The offender was lying face down on the floor with his hands underneath him. Four officers
were on top of the offender but he
was still not complying
to their commands.
This officer came up and kicked the offender in the
face.
The internal
affairs investigators findings
to this allegation were sustained.
On or about 01/29/10,
the officer allegedly
used excessive force on an intoxicated individual as the officer was attempting
to place the individual in the back of a patrol
car. The individual had been
fighting with another officer that resulted in the individual bleeding inside his
mouth. The individual spit on the officer and the officer
allegedly slapped the individual in the face with an open hand. This allegation was not sustained.
The officer also was found to have violated
policy by allowing
an individual to be a ride
along with the officer on several occasions
without having the individual sign the mandatory waiver form. The officer did not deny this allegation and where he/she was asked why,
the officer responded by saying
"Honestly, Laziness probably.
On or about 02/23/10, the officer was suspended for a
period of 80 hours without pay, demoted from lieutenant
to detective, placed on probation for six months, received
a Written Reprimand, and ordered to attend Use Of Force Training
for Excessive Use Of Force and
Dereliction Of Duty.
The issue here is
that the command staff failed to report this to the District Attorney David
McDade. You don’t kick a man in the face when four officers are holding him
down. That was substantiated. The slapping of the other officer was not. It is
an issue the DA had to look into. I contacted McDade left it with him I do not
know the results and McDade and have not discussed it as it was left in his
hands. The officer is still working and I must say he is a great guy.
However, I continued
to wait to see if they would ever report the incident to POST. Finally, I
reported it to POST in early 2013. There was an investigation done and the
council ruled that the department punishment was sufficient. The question is
what else could they do four years later as a colleague at POST and I discussed.
How do you go back and punish someone four years later. The statues of limitations were basically up.
I have fired officers
for less than that at the State. If you hit an inmate being held down by four officers you walked out the door
in cuffs. The issue is DPD has fired
officers for less than that. They are quiet proud of the fact and let it be known in the law enforcement community. They have also reported those officers to POST.
The problem is - this is not the only one stand by for more
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