Reprimand officers, second panel urges

Now it's up to Largo's police chief to decide what punishment officers connected to the Explorer sex scandal should receive.

By JANE MEINHARDT

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 21, 2000

LARGO -- Another Largo Police Department panel has recommended written reprimands for officers who violated department policy in the Explorer scandal.

In the second of a three-step disciplinary process, the department's Disciplinary Review Board met Tuesday and affirmed, with little discussion, the decisions made last week by police supervisors. The board is an advisory panel that makes disciplinary recommendations to police Chief Jerry Bloechle.

Now it's up to Bloechle, who recently announced he will retire, to decide what, if any, discipline to hand out to the officers. The chief is on vacation this week and was unavailable Tuesday for comment.

Mayor Robert Jackson said Tuesday that he has some concerns about the level of discipline recommended.

"I still have some reservations when you have a letter of reprimand for four different officers, for four different sets of offenses," Jackson said.

Allegations that surfaced earlier this year about improper sexual relationships in the early 1990s between Largo officers and female Explorers led to a six-week Internal Affairs investigation.

Released May 5, the investigation concluded some past and current officers had relationships with Explorers, which is a Boy Scout program that provides on-the-job training for youths 14 to 21.

Officer Karl Gracy told investigators he had off-duty consensual sex in 1992 with an Explorer who was 18 or older. Sgt. Scott Doerflein admitted that the same Explorer had gone to his apartment, but he denied having sex with her.

Investigators concluded that Sgt. Melanie Holley, a former Explorer adviser, knew or should have known about misconduct involving Explorers, but did not report it to supervisors.

Bloechle, a captain, a lieutenant and a sergeant formed the chain-of-command panel that last week recommended written reprimands for the officers.

On Tuesday, the Disciplinary Review Board had a different captain, lieutenant and sergeant -- supervisors not in the officers' direct chain of command. The board also included a civilian employee and a detective.

Before the board began its review, Bill LauBach, director of the Police Benevolent Association, warned that the union would probably appeal any discipline meted out as a result of the Explorer investigation. He contended that at the time the misconduct occurred, there were no rules or directives in place prohibiting relationships with Explorers.

The board concurred with the findings and written reprimand recommendation for Holley, Doerflein and Gracy. Lt. Carla Boudrot voted against accepting the findings and recommendations.

"The department had no rule in place at the time," Boudrot said. "The Explorers were consenting adults."

Sgt. Michael Short agreed that if the department had a written rule prohibiting sexual relationships with Explorers at the time, Gracy would not have violated it. However, he said, an officer's conduct should not just be governed by rules.

"There's a line out there," Short said. "You know where it is . . . and when you should and should not cross it."

A fourth officer found to have violated rules by not reporting what he knew about the relationships quit early this month to become a pilot.

The Explorer scandal also cost Mac Williams, the department's spokesman, his job. Bloechle forced him to resign May 26 for his handling of the media during the inquiry.

Bloechle announced earlier this month that he will retire in October, citing recent health problems and stress.

-- Times staff writer Eric Stirgus contributed to this report.

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