By Allison Klein
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said this morning she is now trying to get rid of the more than 20 officers she has rehired after they were terminated for misconduct.
The officers — who were fired for such offenses as lying, falsifying documents, double-dipping and fist-fighting on the job — had been reinstated after the department repeatedly missed deadlines in disciplinary proceedings.
“We’re talking about serious offenses,” said Lanier, who brought back the officers beginning last year. “These cases raise profound issues of public safety in the District. We can’t have officers testifying in court when their credibility can’t be trusted.”
Lanier said she decided to review the cases because interim D.C. Attorney General Peter J. Nickles advised her that reinstating the officers violate District law. The misconduct cases predate Lanier, who took over the department at the end of2006.
Nickles cited D.C. regulations that say the city should not be forced to hire back an employee based on a procedural error “which did not cause substantial harm or prejudice to the employee’s rights.”
Copyright 2008 The Washington Post