Officer misconduct explored at Chief Coffee

A common misconception about police officers is they are held to a higher standard than the public, Maricopa Police Sgt. Steve Judd told residents Saturday.

“We don’t hold our officers to a higher standard, we hold our officers to a strict accountability,” he said. “It’s the same standard that everybody has, but then there are just additional responsibilities.”

Judd heads the police department’s Professional Standards Unit formerly known as Internal Affairs. Within the unit he oversees internal investigations for officer misconduct, maintenance of professional standards and the protection of its officers’ and employees’ civil and employee rights.

Throughout the monthly Coffee with the Chief session at the Maricopa Public Library, Judd discussed such internal-affairs issues as disciplining an officer for misconduct and officers’ due process rights when a complaint is made about them.

When someone reports officer misconduct the department undergoes a thorough process, Judd said, which can be lengthy but necessary for the department to preserve its integrity.

“If we find that there is a preponderance of the evidence that that officer was involved in misconduct, then the department head has a responsibility to give out reasonable discipline,” Judd said.

“Nobody likes to get a phone call from me,” he said.

Gross misconduct or criminal behavior not only is investigated and disciplined by the department, but it also must be reported to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. The board, created by Arizona Legislature in 1968 to provide curriculum and standards for all certified law enforcement training facilities, determines if the officer’s certification should be revoked.

Whenever there is misconduct of any kind by an officer, the incident is looked at by three entities: the police department, the city and the peace officer board. The police department determines the officer’s status within the department, the city overseas the officer’s employment and the board regulates officer certification.

“Any or all of them can take action against the officer,” Judd said.

Just as citizens have the right to due process, so do officers.

“We work very hard as a Professional Standards Unit to make sure that we are protecting our employees’ rights, that we are protecting their dignity but we are also upholding the professional standards and public trust,” Judd said.

When citizens are arrested they are given their Miranda rights, but officers charged with a crime receive a Garrity warning. However, a Garrity warning does not give the officer an option to remain silent and they must answer all questions within the investigation or they can be fired.

“It’s only that small percentage of officers who continue to cause problems because they think they are dealt with unfairly,” he said.

Whenever punitive action is taken against an officer, the department maintains its checks and balances by involving the human resources department, as well as their legal counsel team to insure officers are treated fairly.

“There are lots of eyes,” Judd said.

Although internal investigators can be seen by other officers as the “bad guys,” Judd said the investigators are there to make sure officers maintain their duty to uphold a strict code of ethics set by the peace officer training board.

“It’s a heavy responsibility,” Judd said of officers maintaining the code of ethics.

The code, which involves being consistently mindful of the welfare of others, can be mentally and physically strenuous and that’s why, Judd said, officers don’t always act friendly in a situation until they have all of the facts.