Maricopa Police Department Sgt. Aki Stant was returned to light duty early this month after a three-month investigation looking into 12 allegations against him. “I don't know why 'they' were investigating me,” Stant said. “I can say that I believe it was in retaliation for my part in representing several officers and providing witness statements for several internal and EEOC investigations against the police department and city,” Stant said.
According to a 62-page report documenting the investigation, eight substantiated allegations brought forth against Stant essentially focused on an inability to complete reports in a timely manner, mismanagement of the police fleet and failure to repair weapons in a timely manner.
One of the specific allegations brought forth dealt with Stant’s alleged inability to process department workflow status reports, which officers forward to sergeants for approval. According to the investigation, Stant had 196 of these reports in his in-box, awaiting approval; one of which was two months old. When asked about the workflow reports by the investigator, Stant said he didn’t check the reports daily and couldn’t explain why he had so many reports in his approval file. The alleged mismanagement of the police fleet occurred from September 2008 to March 2009 when Stant was temporarily assigned as fleet manager. During this time, it is alleged that Stant failed to schedule and coordinate vehicles needing service due to factory recalls and failed to keep track of the vehicles’ usage. According to the report, this mismanagement resulted in tire issues and additional potential cost from a lack of maintenance. The report also alleges Stant failed to repair weapons while serving as the department’s firearms training coordinator and armorer between August 2007 and June 2009. The investigation states that during this time frame, the sights of three of the department’s shotguns were recalled, and Stant only repaired one of them despite having the necessary parts to do so. Stant told investigators that it was not just a matter of putting the sights on the guns; he needed to test the firearms to ensure they were properly sighted. In order to do this, he said he would need time or to take them elsewhere, but kept being told to find time. Those non-sustained allegations included Stant improperly used sick time, worked overtime without approval, released information to the media without authorization and used a false name to write several articles in the Communicator detailing issues in the police department. During interviews concerning the media allegations, Stant admitted to talking to the media and answering questions, but denied ever providing documentation he had originally received from a public records request. During the investigation, which began July 7 and ended Oct. 5, Stant was placed on paid administrative leave. The department recommended that Stant receive a one-day suspension and be placed on 90-day probation, during which time if similar actions are repeated he could receive further disciplinary action. Stant is currently appealing the investigation findings and said he could not comment on each specific allegation until after the proceedings are completed. “I am appealing the cause for investigation and the findings because I feel that they are based in retaliation and have no merit. I will be the first to say that I am far from perfect, but considering the totality of the circumstances, I have been diligent in my assigned duties and have done the best I can. Additionally, I have several items of documentation to submit against the allegations,” Stant said. City officials could not comment on the investigation because of its appeal status. File photo |