Law enforcement agencies must watch out for police officers with past disciplinary issues

Editorial Board
·4 min read
4

The best police officers in our community are skilled at recognizing potentially difficult situations and taking steps to head off problems. Unfortunately, some of the worst cops are good at staying ahead of trouble, too.

It's not uncommon to see police officers on the Treasure Coast submit their resignations while they are facing disciplinary action for misconduct.

For example:

Dylan Krecic, a Port St. Lucie police officer, quit his job in January as an internal police investigation began that ultimately found he improperly handled a sex-related crime report and investigation.

Port St. Lucie police officer Julio Borras resigned last October during an investigation that ultimately found a number of policy violations, including having sex on duty and neglect of duty.

Although both of those examples happened within the same department, this is by no means a problem confined to the Treasure Coast's largest city. Other jurisdictions in all three of our coastal counties occasionally must contend with bad apples who dishonor the vast majority of good men and women who risk their lives to keep residents safe every day.

Communities must be vigilant for job-hopping cops

"I know a lot of our kids have questions about things that they have seen as far as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and things of that nature. I wrote a book on a child-friendly level to help explain what they have been seeing or have witnessed," said local author Bri Coleman (middle), who signs a copy of her book "Through My Eyes" for Marie Anderson, of Stuart, during the Pop Up 'N' Shop Summer Kick Off on Saturday, June 12, 2021, at the 10th Street Community Center in Stuart. Coleman partnered with the City of Stuart to bring together local businesses. "I wanted to find a way to get together with everybody in the community as a way to say thank you for supporting me," said Coleman.

We know about the two examples mentioned above because Port St. Lucie officials were diligent enough to complete their investigations into the conduct of those officers and share that information, as they are required to do by law.

What's worrisome is what happens next with job-hopping cops. By preemptively quitting ahead of disciplinary action, they may avoid having blemishes on their records that would prevent them from being rehired somewhere else.

In theory, bad cops could keep resigning and seeking employment elsewhere over and over.

There are safeguards in place to prevent that from happening, though.

Rick Lane, a retired major in the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, said a notice of separation is supposed to be filled out by law enforcement agencies whenever an officer leaves while facing disciplinary action. Those notices are kept on file with the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission ― and available to other agencies throughout the state, Lane said.

In cases where officers are suspected of breaking laws, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said criminal investigations are followed to their conclusion, regardless of the suspects' job status.

Snyder said state law also requires internal investigations to be completed, even if the subjects of those investigations have ended their employment and are no longer subject to suspension, termination or other administrative punishments.

"Once we start it, we don't stop it until the investigation is done," Snyder said. "I think the days of the gypsy cop moving from agency to agency are pretty much over."

Sealing the cracks in the system

Hundreds of people march on the Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart Sunday, May 31, 2020, as part of a peaceful protest in response to the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minn.
Hundreds of people march on the Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart Sunday, May 31, 2020, as part of a peaceful protest in response to the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minn.

There may yet be a few cracks in the system.

Lane pointed out some agencies use different terms for internal investigations, like "citizens' concern" files, that make it tougher for those outside the department to know which records to request.

It can also be problematic if a department wants to skip the formalities of an investigation by allowing an officer to resign with a clean record. That might save some time and paperwork on the department's end, but it doesn't provide much guidance for the officer's potential future employers.

An informal survey of local law enforcement agencies found most are willing to share what information they have, good or bad, about the people who have worked for them.

Ultimately, the onus is on agencies hiring officers who have worked in other jurisdictions to use good judgment and thoroughly check into the backgrounds of the people they put into positions of great public trust.

Sadly, as Snyder noted, "there are agencies that will take the bottom of the barrel."

This could be especially problematic in some smaller jurisdictions, which have fewer resources to spend on candidate recruitment. Also, those with smaller staffs may feel greater pressure to make quick hires than larger departments that can more easily cover a few open positions.

None of this suggests there's a widespread problem here. There's ample reason to think most police officers are honest, hardworking and committed to helping people. However, having even a few who are not can have serious consequences and undermine public confidence in one of our society's most important institutions.

Hiring the right people to fill law enforcement vacancies may take a little extra time and diligence, but it's worth it to get those personnel decisions right.

Editorials published by TCPalm/Treasure Coast Newspapers are decided collectively by its editorial board. To respond to this editorial with a letter to the editor, email up to 300 words to TCNLetters@TCPalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Watch out for job-hopping cops with disciplinary issues in their pasts