By Tony Plohetski
Austin American-Statesman
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police officials have begun reviewing the entire work histories of officers who have been fired, looking for warning signs that might have gone unnoticed and that could be used to help strengthen the department’s hiring or training procedures.
Assistant Police Chief David Carter said that officials have not come up with any conclusive findings since beginning the project recently but that they plan to use what they learn to help prevent future firings.
“We want to get a sense of is there something we did miss - either through the initial hiring process or some indicator that we could have picked up on - that this was an officer who could have used some direction or guidance early in his or her career,” said Carter, the department’s chief of staff.
Since taking over almost a year ago, Police Chief Art Acevedo has fired six of the department’s 1,500 officers.
The department’s internal affairs unit has traditionally investigated officer conduct, but those inquiries were generally limited to a single event, not an officer’s work history.
The department also has an early warning system for officers who have repeated disciplinary or training problems so that supervisors can address the issue.
But Carter said the department has typically not gone back to review fired officers’ personnel files or other information such as training histories and performance evaluations for problems that the officers might have had in common.
“There may be times that we see when things simply go wrong,” Carter said. “But quite a lot of the time, there could possibly be indicators.”
Carter said officials may use the information to improve hiring practices or modify training if they notice patterns.
Tom Stribling , an attorney for the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas who frequently represents officers, said the effort “may yield some interesting things.”
“It is possible that there might be a history or pattern, or it might show that this is a total anomaly for this officer,” he said.
George Vanderhule , president of the Austin Police Association, said that the department conducted such reviews years ago and that he supports the recent effort. “I think it is beneficial for everybody,” Vanderhule said. “The more you can do in terms of looking at predictors, the better officers you hire and the better it is for the department, the better it is for the community.
“You want the best quality and caliber you can get,” he said.
Copyright 2008 Austin American-Statesman