Everyone in the country right now is talking about the former undercover Tempe PD detective who slept with the drug dealer she was supposed to be investigating. This is pretty scandalous, even by Arizona’s standards!
Needless to say, we weren’t surprised when this story made national news on a major media syndicate, Fox News. They discussed the topic at length, and a prior law enforcement officer “consultant” for the show said the department investigating the complaint should also be assessing the detective’s TRAINING and SUPERVISION in addition to alleged offenses.
All of us in law enforcement know that when something major occurs in a department (excluding ASU) quite often the supervisors/trainers are also held liable because of their negligence or nonfeasance in supervision/training. How many times has a supervisor at ASUPD been written up for negligence in training or supervision?
We’re willing to bet virtually none, because almost all supervisors and FTO Sergeants (current and past) would have been fired already. In case you weren’t aware, AS supervisors or FTO supervisors, your job description ALSO includes either supervising or training (sometimes both). Additionally, your SUPERVISORS also have SUPERVISORS. That means when stuff really hits the fan, someone in a position of authority should look to see who was managing the person that messed up as well as THEIR supervisor.
Adequate training also plays a key role in the liability game too. All of us at ASUPD know the hard work Sergeant T put into building a LEGITIMATE, liability free FTO program. He knew how a failure for officers to be properly trained could cause a huge legal issue for ASUPD, so he utilized a previously established and legally sound FTO program. After being destroyed by both Sergeant Pam Osborne and Sergeant Fuchtman, what remains of the FTO program is nothing like the one Sergeant T implemented; it remains now as one of ASUPD’s greatest liabilities.
At this point, ASUPD doesn’t even require a major incident in order for someone to peel back the layers of liability and find out who hasn’t been doing their jobs; it only takes a FOIA request and half a brain. In addition to the aforementioned issues, ASUPD should be aware of the fact that the nation’s focus right now is on the major scandal transpiring in Tempe, AZ. It wouldn’t take a whole lot of work to throw some of ASUPD’s issues into the mix too.
ASUPD has had plenty of sex scandals of it’s own, probably enough to make Tempe PD blush. If I had to work with a bunch of guys that had carnal knowledge of my spouse I would lose my lunch. Cuckoldery is alive and well and it’s hilarious.
FYI…if anyone is holding their breath around here waiting for an ethics revival it ain’t happening folks.
We took Tempe’s disgraced command staff and give them homes, so what does that say about how our command feels about ethics? Open door. How do most employees feel about their future here? Open door.
While the Tempe officer story is pretty crazy most people have a positive view of their local police, that they’re there putting their lives on the line protecting their communities because this is the truth for every police department in the nation.
There will always be a few bad apples, it’s the law of averages, nothing more. It’s what a department does with the bad apples that really matters. Tempe allows them to resign, ASUPD hires them from Tempe and in some cases promotes them from within, driving more good natured employees out of the department.
If you want to draw more attention to what’s been happening at ASUPD I would contact media outlets about the issues. This discussion needs to happen outside the department in public so administrators above the chief will finally take corrective action.
I feel for the families affected for her being a head case. How long before we give her a uniform to cover staffing?