Post by Shuftin on Jul 24, 2006 23:47:11 GMT -5
(Editor's Note: Bruce McClure, a former friend of King County Sheriff's Deputy James Patrick Covey who is quoted in this story, is not the same Bruce McClure who is a King County sheriff's deputy.)
Heard the one about the cop convicted of murder who's now serving life in prison?
Court Documents here:
seattlepi.nwsource.com/conductunbecoming/pensions/docs/states/5_Bachmeiermurdered.pdf
He draws a $3,100 tax-free pension check every month -- and will for the rest of his life.
How about the deputy who, while waiting to learn if he'd be fired for allegedly beating his girlfriend, took advantage of extra work offered by his department to double his salary?
[Deputy Pat Covey, 51, is yet another example in a group of sheriff's deputies who have managed to complete their careers -- his spanned 26 years -- despite criminal behavior and other misconduct described in police parlance as "conduct unbecoming."]
Full Story here:
seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253807_covey29.asp
His overtime-bloated pay now entitles him to a $63,000-a-year pension.
Then there's the officer-turned-molester who sexually abused his stepdaughter.
Story here:
seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253978_svinth30.asp
And the drinking-while-on-duty deputy who vandalized a van.
And the cop who left his gun out, enabling his enraged lover to kill a man.
Story here:
seattlepi.nwsource.com/conductunbecoming/zana/
All of them either now receive -- or one day will -- handsome retirement benefits. And most of these ex-officers' pensions were made even bigger, thanks to their former employer -- the King County Sheriff's Office.
An abuse of public trust is occurring time and again at the expense of taxpayers: Bad cops have -- and will continue to -- cost King County and Washington millions of dollars, as publicly bankrolled salaries and taxpayer-subsidized pensions reap lucrative rewards for officers who've tainted the badge.
A Seattle P-I examination of state pension and payroll records of eight King County sheriff's deputies shows example after example of how such problem officers continued drawing salaries and earning service credits for years. This fattened retirements for these men, six of whom engaged in acts of misconduct so serious they could have been fired years earlier.
Had they been fired, millions would have been saved in salaries and past, present and future retirement payments, according to calculations conducted separately and at the P-I's request by a state fiscal analyst and an actuary in private practice.
While it's not easy to fire deputies -- termination cases require meeting a standard of proof that's "clear and convincing" -- the sheriff's rulebook also says the kind of misconduct committed by officers cited in this story can or will result in dismissal.
Still, six of the deputies were allowed to stay on the job and continued misbehaving for years.
Along with millions in work and retirement pay, taxpayers have paid hundreds of thousands more in settlements of legal claims brought by alleged victims of four of the deputies.
These deputies are able to harvest publicly afforded spoils despite questionable, even criminal, employment records.
Heard the one about the cop convicted of murder who's now serving life in prison?
Court Documents here:
seattlepi.nwsource.com/conductunbecoming/pensions/docs/states/5_Bachmeiermurdered.pdf
He draws a $3,100 tax-free pension check every month -- and will for the rest of his life.
How about the deputy who, while waiting to learn if he'd be fired for allegedly beating his girlfriend, took advantage of extra work offered by his department to double his salary?
[Deputy Pat Covey, 51, is yet another example in a group of sheriff's deputies who have managed to complete their careers -- his spanned 26 years -- despite criminal behavior and other misconduct described in police parlance as "conduct unbecoming."]
Full Story here:
seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253807_covey29.asp
His overtime-bloated pay now entitles him to a $63,000-a-year pension.
Then there's the officer-turned-molester who sexually abused his stepdaughter.
Story here:
seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253978_svinth30.asp
And the drinking-while-on-duty deputy who vandalized a van.
And the cop who left his gun out, enabling his enraged lover to kill a man.
Story here:
seattlepi.nwsource.com/conductunbecoming/zana/
All of them either now receive -- or one day will -- handsome retirement benefits. And most of these ex-officers' pensions were made even bigger, thanks to their former employer -- the King County Sheriff's Office.
An abuse of public trust is occurring time and again at the expense of taxpayers: Bad cops have -- and will continue to -- cost King County and Washington millions of dollars, as publicly bankrolled salaries and taxpayer-subsidized pensions reap lucrative rewards for officers who've tainted the badge.
A Seattle P-I examination of state pension and payroll records of eight King County sheriff's deputies shows example after example of how such problem officers continued drawing salaries and earning service credits for years. This fattened retirements for these men, six of whom engaged in acts of misconduct so serious they could have been fired years earlier.
Had they been fired, millions would have been saved in salaries and past, present and future retirement payments, according to calculations conducted separately and at the P-I's request by a state fiscal analyst and an actuary in private practice.
While it's not easy to fire deputies -- termination cases require meeting a standard of proof that's "clear and convincing" -- the sheriff's rulebook also says the kind of misconduct committed by officers cited in this story can or will result in dismissal.
Still, six of the deputies were allowed to stay on the job and continued misbehaving for years.
Along with millions in work and retirement pay, taxpayers have paid hundreds of thousands more in settlements of legal claims brought by alleged victims of four of the deputies.
These deputies are able to harvest publicly afforded spoils despite questionable, even criminal, employment records.