Another Week, Another Victim of Unethical Behavior

As we enter week 4 of my blog there has been another local story that caught my attention.  This one has to do with Police Chief Steve Singletary of the Plant City Police Department.  For those of you who haven't heard, he was recently fired from his job.  His firing was the result of his unethical behavior during a nearly three year affair.  Please take a look at the clip below for a quick overview on this case.

When I first heard about this story the question that came to mind was whether or not he was fired solely because of his affair.  Well that question was very easy to answer as I have seen my share of extra-marital affairs over the course of my 20 year career in law enforcement.  While not one of my co-workers was fired for cheating on their spouse there were several who were terminated due to the unethical behavior that occurred either during the affair or immediately afterwards. 

I'm sure that some of you are wondering what type of behavior caused these law enforcement professionals to lose their jobs. As you will see below Chief Singletary lost his job for many reasons.  He is alleged to have used sick time to take off so he could see his mistress.  He is also alleged to have met with his mistress on city property to continue their sexual relationship.  While in the course of my career the prevailing theme for why officers lost their jobs after being caught in an extra-marital affair boils down to untruthfulness.  I've seen officers get caught up in affairs and then lie to investigators.  While the affair is ethically and morally wrong, the officers would've kept their jobs if they would've told the truth during the investigation. 

As I read through some documents that were released by the Plant City Police Department(Please see the link below and click on the related documents) it became apparent that the Chief's moral compass was completely off kilter.  What started out as an extra-marital affair morphed into the abuse of sick time, using city property for personal reasons, and trespassing on private property for the purpose of meeting up with his mistress. 

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/24565143/2014/01/28/plant-city-police-chief-fired

As I close week 4 of my blog I will leave you with a couple of questions.  The first one is this: Should a law enforcement official lose their job because of an extra-marital affair?  What if the affair involved the Chief or Sheriff of that particular agency, would that change your opinion?  

I look forward to reading your responses and I will respond next week. 

What Happens Now?

Since my post last week embattled Lakeland Police Chief, Linda Womack, has announced that she will resign on May 1st.  Please see below for a short excerpt written by Chief Womack to the City Manager of Lakeland.  

 After full and careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that it is in the best interest of me and my family to transition out of my position of Chief of Police of the Lakeland Police Department. I am very proud of all the things we, as a department, have been able to accomplish in the three years I have been Chief.

I would like to thank you for the strong support you have shown me and the Police Department during my tenure here. Throughout my career, I have not worked for or with any other City Manager who has shown such integrity and strength of character.

My transition from my position as Chief of Police will be effective May 1, 2014. I will continue to move this department forward with 100% commitment until that time. And, I will assist in any way I can to make my departure as seamless as possible.

Thank you for the honor of being the Chief of Police for the Lakeland Police Department.

So what are we as a society to make of this?  Should we point the finger at Chief Womack or her officers?  Is this the fault of the city council and city manager for not properly vetting Chief Womack before hiring her?  After all Chief Womack was involved in another sex scandal at her former department in Elgin, Illinois.  In that case then Chief Womack and her department were investigating an assistant chief who was alleged to have had sex with another officer.  

Regardless of what you believe it's clear now that what occurred in Lakeland was nothing less than tragic.  Several employees have lost their jobs while still others have had their names tarnished.  Meanwhile the victim in this case has hired an attorney and filed suit against the City of Lakeland. 

My hope is that other municipalities and the police departments they employ will take a long list at their hiring process.  In this case there was smoke for quite a while.  As we ultimately saw there was also plenty of fire to go right along with all that smoke. Now I certainly don't believe that Chief Womack should shoulder all the blame.  However as the chief executive of her department that is exactly where the blame should land.  I have to believe that while this was occurring there were whispers in the halls about what was taking place.  How is that no one acted sooner?  Why is that those who knew didn't get the Chief involved?  If they did get her involved and she failed to act then shame on her.  Either way I hope that city managers across this country use this as an example to continually take the pulse of the department heads whom they supervise.  When a scandal this big takes place it is a failure of an entire organization not just one or two people. 

In the not too distant future my department will be replacing our long serving police chief.  As I write this I can't help but wonder how our city leaders will choose a replacement.  How important will the ethical history of a prospective chief be?  Will city leaders reach out to our prospective chief's former employers and inquire as to what type of ethics this person has?  I wonder if that will even be a consideration.  While at this point I'm not quite sure what the answer is, I sure hope that what takes place in Lakeland plays a part in how we find our next chief of police. 

Hey everyone and thanks for returning to week two of my blog. This week I’d like to talk about an issue that a local police department has been dealing with.  That department is responsible for policing the city of Lakeland, Florida.   The Lakeland Police Department has been besieged by what has to seem like an avalanche of either bad luck or lack of leadership. 

In case you haven’t heard what’s been occurring in the City of Lakeland please watch the clip below which will give you some quick insight on the problems that Lakeland is facing. 

As you saw the Lakeland P.D. is dealing with an issue that just doesn’t seem to go away.  Over the course of the last year or so they have had to fire numerous officers.  Many others have been forced into early retirement.  This entire issue encompasses one department employee who felt pressured into having sexual relations with a number of sworn law enforcement officials.  As a fellow officer it would be naïve of me to say that this does not occur in the workplace.  It does and it happens all the time.  What I would add however is that when it occurs there are always whispers.  These whispers often foretell of sexual relations between employees.  When these relationships are seen as inappropriate there are always rumors of what is occurring.  I can only speculate, but I have to assume that if this were the case at my department it was most certainly the case with the Lakeland Police Department.

If all of the above is true, then how can the public still have trust in the Lakeland Police?    How can behavior such as this go un-noticed?  How can the public believe that no one with the department knew what was going on?  The simple answer is that it’s just not possible.  From my experience there had to have been a large number of individuals who knew what was taking place.  These individuals were either part of this outrageous behavior or they were complicit in it by not reporting what was occurring to their superiors.  Regardless of the outcome there seems to be an ongoing ethical dilemma occurring within the walls of the Lakeland Police Department. 

In the end, ten Lakeland Police officers lost their jobs over this scandal.  Many others received formal discipline and still others were implicated, but were never formally charged with any violations.  The woman at the center of the scandal was ultimately fired and has recently filed a lawsuit against the City of Lakeland.  This sad and unfortunate chapter for the City of Lakeland is nearing a close.  The question I pose as I conclude this week’s posting is this: How can these types of scandals be avoided in the future?  Can this be accomplished by providing ongoing ethical training courses?  Should supervisors be held responsible when their subordinates violate the ethical standards set forth by their agency?  I hope to answer these questions and many more in the weeks to come. 

Hello everyone, I’d like to take a moment to welcome you to my blog.  My name is Anthony Russo and I am currently a graduate student at Troy University.  Over the next several weeks I will be dealing with an issue that hits home with me, ethics as they relate to law enforcement.  I have been a police officer for the last twenty years.  Throughout the course of my career I have seen officers and supervisors deal with a myriad of ethically charged issues.  My blog will be focused on current event issues with a sprinkling of personal experiences.

As you will gather from reading my blog, I see very little wiggle room from police officers as it relates to ethical issues.  When an officer gets on the wrong side of the law they have not only neglected the trust put in them by the public, but they have also betrayed themselves and their family.

I’d love to hear from anyone who would like to discuss these issues. I hope to use my personal experiences to shed light on some of the recent stories that deal with police officers and unethical behavior.