Jacksonville Officer Suspended for Unbecoming Conduct, Not Charged With Criminal Offense

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer was suspended for four weeks after an internal investigation upheld charges including unbecoming conduct related to a March traffic crash.

Charges of commission of conduct supporting criminal acts – D.U.I. with property damage; and unbecoming conduct against the officer were upheld, according to an JSO internal affairs report released today.

The officer was not charged with D.U.I., but told internal affairs he was drinking prior to the accident, according to the report.

The suspension was a result of a traffic crash involving the officer in his personal car on March 7.  Breath alcohol tests taken at the scene showed that he blew a .122 and .128, over the .08 legal limit, but those results could not be used against him criminally because of Garrity rights for police officers.

Garrity rights are a type of Miranda rights protection for public employees.

Florida Highway Patrol officer Stanley Petty investigated the crash. According to the report, the officer ran into the back of a dump truck with a flashing yellow sign on Intestate 95 North just past the ramp from MLK Boulevard.

Petty cited the officer for careless driving, but told JSO internal affairs that he did not smell alcohol on the officer nor did the officer appear to him to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

The officer told investigators he was sorry for his actions and for embarrassing the sheriff’s office. He admitted he had five or six mixed drinks, and three bottles of water at Jim’s Place Bar over several hours.

The officer said he mistakenly believed he could drive because of the time that had elapsed after drinking and the amount of water he drank. He used poor judgment in deciding to drive, he said, and had not considered a diuretic medication he takes. The report said he said he hadn’t eaten, and he normally does not drink alcohol.

Police investigators also said the officer left the scene of the crash with a friend, was stopped by police and then told to wait in the back of a marked JSO car. While in the car, the officer pounded on the car door, made numerous phone calls to the Communications Center and urinated on the floor board, the report said.

In the internal affairs report, there were several different opinions and conflicting statements on whether the officer was under the influence.

Lt. D.W. Vanaman requested the crash be investigated by FHP, and ordered the officer to submit to an administrative breath alcohol test. The officer cooperated and signed an administrative rights form. Tests results were .122 and .128, which is over the legal limit.

In the report, Vanaman said he told Petty that he believed the officer was impaired and was surprised that the trooper did not conduct any field sobriety tests and let the officer go.

When Vanaman responded to the crash, JSO Sgt. Joseph Harbin, who was off duty and also responded, told him he might be intoxicated. Harbin told investigators he was suspicious the officer was impaired. JSO Sgt. David Valentine, who was off-duty and also responded to the crash, told investigators the officer exhibited no obvious signs of impairment.

Another officer, Neil Chandler, was the primary officer dispatched to the crash and he told investigators that he did not smell any alcohol on the officer.

Because the crash was under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol, the breathalyzer test given to the officer by his JSO supervisor could only be used for administrative purposes, not as criminal evidence against the officer.

Lieutenant Bill Leeper with the Florida Highway Patrol said the agency has launched its own internal investigation into the case.

A trooper will conduct a field sobriety test when they have probable cause or reasonable suspicion to do so, Leeper said.

Leeper said, FHP is in the process of gathering reports and the investigation would take several weeks.  Leeper could not comment on the specifics of what the FHP is looking into at this time.

Trooper Petty stated he did not smell an odor of alcohol on the officer and the officer did not appear to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.  Petty determined the officer was at fault for the accident, and wrote the officer a traffic ticket for careless driving.

Undersheriff Frank Mackesy said the sheriff’s office has taken the case seriously.

The officer was suspended for one month without pay and has been transferred to the tele-serve unit, taking police reports over the phone.

Mackesy said if an officer drives under the influence in a patrol car, that is grounds for firing, but the officer was in his personal vehicle and the highway patrol never charged him with a criminal offense.

Have you been charged with DUI in Jacksonville? If so, unfortunately you won’t be able to get off the hook this unless you are also in law enforcement. The smartest thing you can do at this juncture would be to contact a Jacksonville DUI lawyer at our firm. We offer a free initial consultation to discuss the details of your unique arrest. There are no guarantees we can help you avoid being convicted, but you might be surprised at how the law can play in your favor. Call 904-610-6545 now.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, August 7th, 2010 at 11:58 pm and is filed under Jacksonville DUI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.