By Cortney Casey
Sterling Heights Sentry
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — The March 20 City Council meeting got off to a somber start as Police Chief Michael Reese stepped up to apologize for timecard misconduct committed by 21 command officers in his department.
During the early segment typically reserved for the city manager’s report, Reese expressed remorse for the incident, and outlined how it came to light, the subsequent investigation and the resulting disciplinary action.
“I’d like to apologize to the mayor, City Council, and specifically, the residents of Sterling Heights for the action of certain command officers assigned to the police operations division, which cast a negative image (on) the city and its Police Department,” he said. “As chief of police and a resident of this city, I’m embarrassed by the actions of these officers and can assure you this behavior will not be tolerated now or in the future.” According to Reese, he learned of the situation Jan. 31, after the president of the police officers association reported receiving an anonymous letter, believed to be penned by a patrolman, indicating that a command officer on the day shift had been taking leave while clocked in.
On Feb. 1, Reese forwarded the letter to the department’s Special Investigations Bureau, requesting an investigation into the allegations.
The investigation revealed that the misconduct had been committed by or with the awareness of one captain, six lieutenants and 14 sergeants over a three-month period, he said.
“It was learned that most, if not all, 21 command officers in total were conducting the practice of adding undocumented time off to their furlough time,” he said. “The practice began sometime after the city implemented the reduced workweek.” Administrators imposed a reduced workweek of 37.5 hours upon the command officers union last summer after the parties failed to arrive at an agreement regarding midcontract concessions.
The union filed a grievance over the matter, then - after an arbitrator upheld the city’s position - a lawsuit in Macomb County Circuit Court. The case is still pending.
The falsely reported hours “ranged from a half-hour to as much as two and a half hours,” said Reese. “The practice was conducted periodically, only when manpower allocations in command allowed, and there was no overtime pay as a result of this practice.” At the investigation’s conclusion, Reese said, he met with the city attorney and labor attorney to determine disciplinary action that would be proportionate to the offense while able to withstand challenges via grievance.
They determined that the captain involved would be terminated or demoted; that individual, who Reese has yet to publicly identify, opted to resign instead.
The lieutenants involved received 30-day suspensions, 10 days of which are held in reserve for two years as probation, remaining unimplemented if they maintain clean work records for that period. The sergeants involved received 10-day suspensions, with five days held in reserve for probation.
Two sergeants who didn’t participate in the misconduct but knew it was occurring and failed to take action received five-day suspensions, with three days held in reserve as probation.
Reese noted that the probation concept has been utilized in “numerous” disciplinary situations over the last several years, “and has proved to be a creative deterrent.” Instead of being served out presently, the suspensions will be applied as reductions from command officers’ earned leave time, said City Manager Mark Vanderpool.
Reese said that methodology creates the least amount of disruption for the department. According to Vanderpool, there was an average of $516 in lost productivity per lieutenant and $408 per sergeant, totaling about $50, 000.
Not including the time held in abeyance as probation, the leave deducted as punishment equates to about $8, 700 per lieutenant and $1, 700 per sergeant, meaning the city will recover about $100, 000, he said.
The resigned captain’s position will not be filled, creating added savings in excess of $100, 000, he added.
According to Reese, the department is not pursuing criminal charges in what it’s deemed a “personnel matter” because the only evidence implicating the officers is their own statements.
Prior to their interviews, they were advised of their rights under the Garrity warning, which protects law enforcement officers from self- incrimination in criminal matters stemming from an internal investigation; therefore, the statements cannot be used against them in criminal proceedings, he explained.
Furthermore, the station’s exterior security cameras did not capture footage of any officers leaving early; officers’ key fobs only indicate when they enter the building, not when they leave; and checks of in-car computers to determine sign-off times were “inconclusive,” he said.
To ensure the situation does not occur in the future, the station’s exterior cameras will be updated with picture time/date stamps and repositioned to amply cover all entrances and exits, said Reese, and a new, computerized payroll system “could be forthcoming.” “Once the apologies are over, the first issue we need to address as a police department is (to) restore public confidence,” said Reese. “The approach that needs to be taken, from the command officers to myself, is to take a deep breath and focus on important outcomes, like restoring confidence, learning lessons this incident has taught, and putting the past behind us and moving forward.” Characterizing the misdeeds as “the behavior of a few,” Reese concluded, “Let’s not have one incident cast a negative image on a fine police department.” Blowback Residents and council members responded to Reese’s apology with a mixture of admiration, indignation and resignation.
“You spend a lifetime building up an organization, and in one or two days, people tear it down, everything you’ve done,” said resident George Hamzik, who suggested the officers be terminated to “maintain the integrity” of the department. “What was broken was the trust. It takes years to build up trust, and in one fell swoop, it all gets wiped away. And without trust, you have nothing. You can’t depend on anything else.” Joseph Rimarcik argued that the incident entailed “a major amount of collusion” and merits review by an independent, outside agency.
“You’re going to set a standard here,” he said. “What happens when a DPW employee walks out with a case of oil? You’re going to say, well, that’s not stealing, that’s not lying, that’s not cheating? How about an administrative person who handles cash? Are we going to say, come on back, you can still have your job and handle money? Pay it back, and everything’s swell? I don’t think so.” Harry Marchlones, a former Warren police officer, countered that he believes the department dealt with the issue appropriately.
“I still have the greatest confidence in police officers in Sterling Heights,” he said.
“It’s a hiccup, and I know it hurts - if you love this city, of course it’s gonna,” said Jeff Norgrove.
“But we’ll get past it. You know, sometimes these things happen.” Mayor Pro Tem Michael Taylor, an attorney, insisted that the situation merited prosecution and wanted confirmation directly from an outside agency that it couldn’t be pursued on a criminal level.
Taylor recalled how, a few months ago, he reassured residents publicly that the command officers would maintain their professionalism and dedication despite the legal wrangling with the city over their contract.
“Unbeknownst to me that while I was making those statements, 20 or more officers who swore an oath to protect and serve our residents were concocting a conspiracy to defraud this city out of tens of thousands of our … dollars,” he said. “I guess I couldn’t have been more wrong about my comments.” Councilwoman Barb Ziarko acknowledged that it won’t be easy to get over the breach of trust, but she doesn’t think the city should be “heavy handed” about the punishment.
“I think, right now, we have the best option in place,” she said.
Mayor Richard Notte said he considers the penalties “extreme” and “severe,” but noted that none of the disciplined officers had grieved the action. Councilwoman Maria Schmidt pointedly opined that the command officers should re-evaluate their pending lawsuit against the city in light of the misconduct.
Sgt. Ken Solak, president of the police command officers union, wasn’t able to attend the meeting but watched it the next day online.
“I think the chief did a good job of putting a mechanism in place to recover, in its entirety, the lost productivity,” he said, “and that decisive action was taken without question by all the command officers involved.” Solak said he now hopes that the department can “turn the page.” “These small, regrettable incidents should probably be written in sand, while the years of loyalty and hard work and dedication to the community that these officers have displayed should be carved in stone,” he said. “This will pass. We’re going to move on and be the best officers we can be.”
Copyright 2012 C&G Newspapers