By Amy Soper
A Fort Wayne Police sergeant will serve a five-day suspension without pay for violating the departments sick-leave policy and leading another officer on a short chase while off-duty in January.
The citys Board of Public Safety denied Fred Rogers appeal of the suspension at a meeting Thursday.
Rogers was on sick leave when he left his home to deal with a problem at a business he owns.
Under our sick-leave policy, people must remain in their residence unless they have doctor approval or there is an emergency, Police Chief Rusty York said. We didnt feel it was an emergency.
York said a problem with family members or a medical situation could constitute an emergency. Rogers had the option of calling a supervisor to ask permission to leave his home, York said, but did not.
Board members decided to suspend Rogers in the summer but delayed the appeal at Rogers request. He asked York to wait on making a decision until he dealt with criminal charges stemming from the chase. York said when he learned there wasnt a court appearance scheduled until February he decided a decision needed to be made because that was too long to wait for disciplinary action.
Rogers is currently working. A decision on a suspension date will be made soon, York said.
Additional disciplinary action could be taken depending on whether Rogers is found guilty of a crime, York said.
Rogers is charged with reckless driving, failure to stop at a through-highway and unreasonable speed, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Allen County court in May.
On Jan. 27, Rogers was traveling east on Buchanan Street at 63 mph in a 30-mph zone, the affidavit said.
Rogers failed to stop at a stop sign, swerved to avoid striking a parked vehicle and nearly hit a woman exiting her vehicle near Smith and Creighton Avenue, court records said.
Rogers, who was off-duty, did not immediately stop when a pursuing officer activated emergency lights on his vehicle.
Rogers eventually pulled into the parking lot of Links Wonderland, 1711 E. Creighton Ave., where the shop he owns Lucilles Beauty Supply & Accessories is located.
Rogers was formerly a detective and has received awards of excellence on numerous occasions.
According to police documents, he also was suspended for 19 days and given six letters of reprimand for various department violations between April 1982 and September 1994.
Those violations included excessive force, being late for duty and abuse of city property. He has served with the department for 23 years.
Fort Wayne News Sentinel (http://www.fortwayne.com/)