Law enforcement so incompetent that it's unfair to hold them accountable.
This is rich.
A botched drug raid led to a five-day suspension for the officer who failed to verify the address before a forced entry raid. Now you might think that a five-day suspension is outrageously light for subjecting innocent citizens to a wrong-address drug raid.
However, on appeal the sentence was actually reduced to one-day, because -- and this is truly amazing -- there was so much incompetence involved that it was deemed unfair to give that officer a whole five days suspension. Of course, nobody else was given anything more than a written reprimand.
Hearing examiner Don Williams wrote that several circumstances that were beyond Caruthers' control caused "catastrophic results."
"The FBI was to verify the location but lost sight of the informant as to which house he was entering to verify the location," Williams wrote. "Broadwater and Caruthers got tied up in other duties that prevented their getting together with the informant to verify the location."
He also pointed out that other officers in Caruthers' chain of command suggested no discipline in the case. Williams ruled that although the city had just cause to discipline Caruthers, he believed that a one-day suspension is reasonable.
"We're happy it was reduced, but we still feel that at most, he should have gotten a written reprimand just like Tegan Broadwater," [Caruthers' attorney] Driskell said.
Incompetent? Corrupt? Join the Drug War! It's not just a job... It's a place where you'll feel right at home.
10:27:39 PM | drug policy | Links | permalink |
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