Officer Fail to Follow Proper Protocol

[Common-Tater]

http://www.kpcnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12465:Officers-fail-to-follow-proper-procedures&catid=36:letters-to-the-editor&Itemid=20

I am sick to death of seeing Police Officers in this area behave inappropriately and get away with it. I guarantee this will not be the last we hear about this incident.

Here is a 3 year old article that gives some background for the Lake James sandbar. http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080705/NEWS/807050305

Keeping this in mind...

First of all, I strongly disapprove of any kind of time period where a person's rights are tossed to the wind to accomoadate "random" investigations of people. And I disagree with any kind of profiling that would permit officers to single out anyone based on race, age, or any other characteristic a person has no control over.

This area has got to get a hold of the a-hole attitude that some officers display and they've got to stop giving officers a simple slap on the wrist for inapropriate behaivior. Auburn fired 2 officers a year or two ago based on sexually inapropriate behavior while on duty. But it took multiple infractions of the same behavior before they were terminated. They should have been fired after the first offense.

I hate this concept of suspension with pay. I can understand if there is very little initial evidence to support a claim against an officer. But if the officer admits to the infraction or behavior, or if there is overwhelming evidence against the officer, there should be no pay involved with the suspension or "off-time." Union rules be ******.

Leadership in local law enforcement organizations have got to get a handle on this stuff. The other issue is this a-hole attitude of treating people with disrespect. They should be professional at all times and understand that when they act like jerks they trash the reputation of the entire department. In my job I interact with officers quite often. Some are very professional and others... not so much.

Probable cause should never be tossed out the window in order to implement some sort of area-wide sting operation. It's a complete violation of our rights.

[dirtbag522]

"This area has got to get a hold of the a-hole attitude that some officers display and they've got to stop giving officers a simple slap on the wrist for inapropriate behaivior. Auburn fired 2 officers a year or two ago based on sexually inapropriate behavior while on duty. But it took multiple infractions of the same behavior before they were terminated. They should have been fired after the first offense."

Obviously you did not attend any of the board of works hearings held regarding the Auburn Police Department incident. If you had, you would know that your statement is incorrect. Neither one of the Auburn officers was disciplined in the past for this type of behavior. As a matter of fact, one of the officers had never been on the receiving end of any type of disciplinary action during his 16 years with Auburn. This was his first, and last, offense. They spoke of of minor infractions regarding the other officer, but all were very insignificant compared to the last one. So with this in mind, you should make sure your facts are correct before posting something as fact. The administration acted swiftly to resolve the issue and discipline those involved.

[Common-Tater]

"This area has got to get a hold of the a-hole attitude that some officers display and they've got to stop giving officers a simple slap on the wrist for inapropriate behaivior. Auburn fired 2 officers a year or two ago based on sexually inapropriate behavior while on duty. But it took multiple infractions of the same behavior before they were terminated. They should have been fired after the first offense."

Obviously you did not attend any of the board of works hearings held regarding the Auburn Police Department incident. If you had, you would know that your statement is incorrect. Neither one of the Auburn officers was disciplined in the past for this type of behavior. As a matter of fact, one of the officers had never been on the receiving end of any type of disciplinary action during his 16 years with Auburn. This was his first, and last, offense. They spoke of of minor infractions regarding the other officer, but all were very insignificant compared to the last one. So with this in mind, you should make sure your facts are correct before posting something as fact. The administration acted swiftly to resolve the issue and discipline those involved.I'll do some digging. I know I read an article that stated both had been guilty of previous infractions in the past. http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091023/LOCAL07/310239980 Do not claim they were not guilty of previous infractions. Are you trying to protect their honor? They have no honor. These are people we trust to keep the peace and defend our communities. When they engage in the behavior they were BOTH guilty of, they betray that trust and become nothing more than the criminals they swor to protect us from.

[dirtbag522]

I'll do some digging. I know I read an article that stated both had been guilty of previous infractions in the past. http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091023/LOCAL07/310239980 Do not claim they were not guilty of previous infractions. Are you trying to protect their honor? They have no honor. These are people we trust to keep the peace and defend our communities. When they engage in the behavior they were BOTH guilty of, they betray that trust and become nothing more than the criminals they swor to protect us from.

At no point in my post did I defend their honor, nor did I claim "THEY" were not guilty of previous infractions. I also do not approve of their actions that lead to their termination. I did hear evidence presented that indicated one officer had previous disciplinary actions documented in his personel file, but I also heard that the other officer had a record quite the opposite. He was terminated as a result of his actions stemming only from this one incident and had no other suspensions or discipline prior to it. If you can present evidence to the contrary, I'd like to hear it. I sat in the hearings and know the testimony given, therefore I don't hold much faith in any article from the media. One thing I will do is defend the actions of the administration and the quickness with which they were carried out. It was over and done with in less than 3 months, unlike some of the instances we all hear about from Allen County. If you recall a recent interview with FWPD Chief York, he admitted to dealing with several disciplinary actions each month. One of the most recent dealt with an officer having sex on duty. Sound familiar? He was given 30 days suspension. Now I ask you to compare that discipline against what happened in Auburn and what was handed down here. I think it's time to let it go so the community can move on. It's nothing anyone wants to be continually reminded of.

[Common-Tater]

If you can present evidence to the contrary, I'd like to hear it. I sat in the hearings and know the testimony given, therefore I don't hold much faith in any article from the media. According to the Journal Gazette, Pongratz looked at porn using department computers and used his cell phone to set up dates with another city employee. He also had sex with the same employee in his squad car. Then he was finally fired after having a sexual relationship with the 18 year old girl who was in their Pathfinder program. Browand was guilty of 3 infractions that aren't revealed before he had relations with the same 18 year old. How many people did Browand give a 2nd chance to? He asked to keep his job based on his previous "clean" record. I doubt he gave many 2nd chances to other citizens. Both got what they deserved. You don't mess up like that and get 2nd chances. He would have forever been labled as the cop that had sex with an 18 year old in his squad car while on duty.



One thing I will do is defend the actions of the administration and the quickness with which they were carried out. It was over and done with in less than 3 months, unlike some of the instances we all hear about from Allen County. If you recall a recent interview with FWPD Chief York, he admitted to dealing with several disciplinary actions each month. One of the most recent dealt with an officer having sex on duty. Sound familiar? He was given 30 days suspension. Now I ask you to compare that discipline against what happened in Auburn and what was handed down here. I think it's time to let it go so the community can move on. It's nothing anyone wants to be continually reminded of.Doesn't matter. I don't compare departments. I expect the same from all of them. 3 months is still an awful long time. Doesn't take me that long to conduct an investigation regarding my officers. Officers are suspended without pay and usually with the week we've concluded the investigation and make our decision. If York is having several disciplinary action per month then maybe he needs to start taking a firmer stance when it comes to the actions of his officers. McCoy should have done more with Pongratz when he had the previous opportunity. Instead he basically turned a blind eye. Thin blue line, BS. McCoy should be replaced.

[dirtbag522]

Pongratz looked at porn using department computers and used his cell phone to set up dates with another city employee. He also had sex with the same employee in his squad car. Then he was finally fired after having a sexual relationship with the 18 year old girl who was in their Pathfinder program. Browand was guilty of 3 infractions that aren't revealed before he had relations with the same 18 year old. How many people did Browand give a 2nd chance to? He asked to keep his job based on his previous "clean" record. I doubt he gave many 2nd chances to other citizens. Both got what they deserved. You don't mess up like that and get 2nd chances. He would have forever been labled as the cop that had sex with an 18 year old in his squad car while on duty.


Doesn't matter. I don't compare departments. I expect the same from all of them. 3 months is still an awful long time. Doesn't take me that long to conduct an investigation regarding my officers. Officers are suspended without pay and usually with the week we've concluded the investigation and make our decision. If York is having several disciplinary action per month then maybe he needs to start taking a firmer stance when it comes to the actions of his officers. McCoy should have done more with Pongratz when he had the previous opportunity. Instead he basically turned a blind eye. Thin blue line, BS. McCoy should be replaced.

You don't compare departments?!?!?! You just did with your first post! You started out talking about a conservation officer and his actions and then went right into something that was handled appropriately. And to think you won't compare police departments to each other, but you'll compare them to how you operate a security guard business? Sounds to me like you have personal issues with Chief McCoy.

[Common-Tater]

At no point in my post did I defend their honor, nor did I claim "THEY" were not guilty of previous infractions. I also do not approve of their actions that lead to their termination. I did hear evidence presented that indicated one officer had previous disciplinary actions documented in his personel file, but I also heard that the other officer had a record quite the opposite. He was terminated as a result of his actions stemming only from this one incident and had no other suspensions or discipline prior to it. If you can present evidence to the contrary, I'd like to hear it. According the article from the Journal Gazette that I posted, the squeeky clean officer you refer to did have 3 disciplinary actions in his file. That was a quote from Chief McCoy.


I sat in the hearings and know the testimony given, therefore I don't hold much faith in any article from the media. One thing I will do is defend the actions of the administration and the quickness with which they were carried out. It was over and done with in less than 3 months, unlike some of the instances we all hear about from Allen County. If you recall a recent interview with FWPD Chief York, he admitted to dealing with several disciplinary actions each month. One of the most recent dealt with an officer having sex on duty. Sound familiar? He was given 30 days suspension. Now I ask you to compare that discipline against what happened in Auburn and what was handed down here. I think it's time to let it go so the community can move on. It's nothing anyone wants to be continually reminded of.It's a wate of time to compare departments like this. It's like saying, "Well, our department might have thieves in it, but at least we don't have as many as they do over there."

This thread started out to discuss the incident from last week on Lake James. The Auburn officers were brought into it to show that there is too much corruption in our local law enforcement agencies. Yes, Allen Country has it's problems as well, but you're talking about a much larger city there. There's no excuse for what happend on Lake James. It's purely incompetence and officers thinking they can throw their weight around. How would they feel if someone did that to one of their daughters? Woah to anyone who screws with a Cop's kid.

[TheBigB]

This thread started out to discuss the incident from last week on Lake James. The Auburn officers were brought into it to show that there is too much corruption in our local law enforcement agencies. Yes, Allen Country has it's problems as well, but you're talking about a much larger city there. There's no excuse for what happend on Lake James. It's purely incompetence and officers thinking they can throw their weight around. How would they feel if someone did that to one of their daughters? Woah to anyone who screws with a Cop's kid.

To get back to that original incident, I'm surprised that none of our Angola / Lake James veterans have kicked in. The conservation officers on Lake James have been doing this as long as I can remember, which goes back to the early 70s. They've always had their own set of rules, and people have always complained about them being hard line about them. You really cannot compare city or county employees to them; a better comparison would be the Indiana State Police. Perhaps you could ask Angola's Republican candidate for Mayor for some perspective on this. :elefant:

[Common-Tater]

You don't compare departments?!?!?! You just did with your first post! You started out talking about a conservation officer and his actions and then went right into something that was handled appropriately.I did not compare the departments in my first post. I used the Auburn incident as an example to support my claim that local law enforcement has issues that it needs to address. The Auburn incident may be have been handled appropriately but the point is it should have never happened in the first place.


And to think you won't compare police departments to each other, but you'll compare them to how you operate a security guard business? Sounds to me like you have personal issues with Chief McCoy.I don't have any issues with McCoy on a personal level. But I'm not the only person on the FP with concerns about McCoy. I believe a certain, popular, Auburn common council member has had plenty to say about Chief McCoy and the police department.