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Chief: Officers misused system

Some St. Petersburg officers tried to get to the scene early. Two, though, are accused of avoiding emergency situations.

ST. PETERSBURG - Police chief Chuck Harmon disciplined three employees and 26 officers Thursday after an investigation revealed computers in cruisers were improperly used to monitor incoming emergency calls, and in two cases, avoid responding to them.

In one instance, an officer made a traffic stop in an apparent attempt to avoid being sent to the scene of a suicide.

In another case, an officer stayed busy on a call so she would not be dispatched to a scene where someone had died.

"I expect them to be out there to provide a service," Harmon said. "It did bring up some trust issues."

Harmon said 26 officers and employees received written reprimands. Three others, including a sergeant, were suspended.

The investigation found two cases of officers who relied on information from the computer system to avoid emergency calls, Harmon said. He said most officers were using the system for "legitimate purposes," such as heading to calls before they were dispatched and making sure there were enough units on the street before they took meal breaks.

"Most of the officers involved were utilizing the access in a positive way, such as arriving at calls faster," Harmon wrote in a memorandum to personnel.

Officer Mark Deasaro, president of the police union, took exception with the discipline because most of the officers involved did not duck calls.

"If somebody's using something to do a better job, why are we disciplining them?" he said.

Bill Foster, chairman of City Council, said Thursday night he had not heard about the disciplinary action. He said officers may avoid calls because they fear discipline should they take aggressive enforcement, or they may not want to get bogged down in paperwork.

"It does a lot to impair the public's trust," Foster said of the two cases in which officers avoided calls. "The public has to trust that if they pick up the phone and dial 911 somebody will be there quickly, as fast as possible."

Officers previously could log into the dispatch system from their cars and view calls as they came in. That allowed officers to see calls before they were broadcast over the police radio. But the large number of users slowed the system, so the department limited access to the system several years ago.

Officer Scott King noticed some colleagues were able to log into the system and told a police dispatcher in 2002, according to records released Thursday. The dispatcher gave King his password.

But King couldn't get into the system. He asked another officer for help, mentioning the password.

Word spread.

On Jan. 30, Officer Phillip Peyton saw a suicide call flash on the dispatch screen in his cruiser. He sent an electronic message to a colleague, Ann Sener, urging her to make a traffic stop and avoid the call.

Sener stopped the driver. Two other officers were sent to the suicide call.

"Told ya," Peyton wrote in an electronic message to Sener.

Sener responded: :-)))))))))

While working the suicide call, two officers complained to a supervisor. They said the timing of the traffic stop was suspicious - likely evidence of colleagues abusing the computer system. At least one of the officers worked late because of the suicide call.

The supervisor, Sgt. Mark Degan, listened to the complaint but did nothing, the report said. He was suspended for five days for failing to report the allegations.

Shortly after the suicide call, an officer complained to the department about improper computer access and triggered the investigation.

Police determined that Peyton had improperly accessed the computer system and distributed the password to other officers. He acknowledged trying to help Sener avoid the suicide call and was suspended for three days.

Sener admitted to accessing the system but denied avoiding calls. She said she had already planned to make the traffic stop and cited the driver for having a suspended license. She was given a written reprimand.

Harmon said the suicide case involved someone coming home and finding the person.

"This wasn't a suicide occurring now," Harmon said. "Our response to it wouldn't have altered the outcome."

Another officer, Detective Mariah Piper, admitted using the system to duck a call.

She received the password last summer and used it nearly every shift until access was denied. One morning, she told investigators, she noticed an unattended death call on her computer screen.

She sent an electronic message to another officer, saying she planned to stretch out her current call until the death was dispatched to another officer. She was suspended for two days.

William Beal, the dispatcher who gave out his password, was given a written reprimand.

Leanora Minai can be reached at minai@sptimes.com or 727 893-8406.