The Tarpon Springs chief disputes a complaint that the department is ill-equipped to investigate its own officers.
By CANDACE RONDEAUX
Published June 25, 2004
TARPON SPRINGS - Nothing about Terry Campsen's arrest in March is simple.
Police say he ran, then gave a false name. Later, he accused officers of planting a cocaine-tainted knife in his pocket.
Now, Campsen's allegation has set off a fiery debate over how the Tarpon Springs Police Department handles investigations into officer misconduct.
Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger wants the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office to take over the department's internal affairs inquiry. But Tarpon Springs police Chief Mark LeCouris says he doesn't need any help.
It's not the first time the public defender has clashed with a small-town police agency.
Dillinger ignited a similar firestorm at the Gulfport Police Department in 1997 when he accused officers of mishandling a case against a mildly retarded, 22-year-old, black man.
The complaint, which prompted a federal probe into the department, eventually led Gulfport police Chief G. Curt Willocks to turn to the Sheriff's Office for help with internal affairs investigations.
Gulfport is one of seven police departments that have asked sheriff's deputies to conduct internal affairs investigations into alleged misconduct in recent years. Since 1999, Sheriff Everett Rice has offered help on 13 such cases at agencies in the county, including St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island and Belleair.
"The benefit to the agency is that they get the investigation done by experts and they don't get blamed for having a conflict of interest - particularly in a smaller agency where everyone knows each other," Rice said.
But LeCouris wrote in a recent letter that Tarpon Springs police used standard procedures to look into Campsen's allegations, and that LeCouris is satisfied with the handling of the inquiry. He accused Dillinger of conducting a smear campaign against his department.
"We stand ready to investigate any legitimate complaint that can be properly investigated," LeCouris wrote.
Tarpon Springs police Officer Tommy Nguyen, 28, first stopped Campsen, 42, near the corner of Harrison Street and North Avenue on March 20.
When Nguyen, Sgt. Robert Gellatly, 36, and Officer Robert White, 33, finally caught up with Campsen, he gave them a false name, records show. Then Nguyen found a knife tainted with cocaine residue in Campsen's pocket and charged him with possession of cocaine, records show.
Tarpon Springs Capt. Ronnie Holt, who led the internal affairs investigation into Campsen's evidence-planting claims in May, said the officers have no history of disciplinary problems.
Holt did not interview the officers about the allegation before closing his inquiry a month ago. "There's no reason for me to go to the officers and drag them through this until it's established that a crime has been committed," he said.
Holt said there's no need for the Sheriff's Office to intervene.
But Dillinger, who forwarded the complaint to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, disagreed.
The public defender said Campsen passed a polygraph exam given by his office involving his claim, but he has refused to allow police to interview Campsen or conduct a second polygraph exam.
He said the Tarpon Springs Police Department is ill-equipped to handle internal investigations, and that it should follow Gulfport's lead.
"The chief kept saying that they hadn't heard any complaints from our office, and we brought something to him and he dropped it," Dillinger said.
Gulfport police Detective James Jones said his agency turned to the Sheriff's Office for help after Dillinger criticized the department's internal affairs investigations. Since then, Gulfport has asked Rice to conduct about half a dozen independent inquiries, Jones said.
"(Willocks) wanted to make sure that he sent the message that, "Hey, look, this is not the way we do business,' " Gulfport Lt. Robert Vincent said. "Any case involving allegations of criminal misconduct or excessive use of force will be referred to the sheriff."
Bill Laubach, executive director of the Pinellas County Police Benevolent Association, said Thursday he doesn't think Tarpon Spring's actions merit outside intervention, and that the department followed the law.
Under Florida statutes, an officer has a right to review written or recorded statements about alleged misconduct before being interviewed or responding to such a charge, Laubach said.
"Any time an allegation of officer misconduct is made, the normal procedure is to interview the complainant who has made the allegation and that is done routinely," Laubach said.
Troy Hitchcock, chief investigator at the public defender's office, notified Holt of the evidence-planting allegations in a May 13 phone call, according to documents released by the Police Department. Holt said his office has not received a written complaint from Campsen himself and has not been allowed to interview him.
"We want to do a complete investigation," Holt said. "In order to do that, we need access to the victim. I'm not about to take a third-party complaint and act on it."
Holt said his department would reopen its inquiry into the allegation if it is allowed to interview Campsen. But he said he doubted his officers were involved in any wrongdoing.
"This department is not a bad department," Holt said. "This department is not filled with a bunch of corrupt police officers."
