The Chief of Police ruined my career

[apd]

What is the name of your state? KY

Until 12/05 I worked as a police officer in a small town. I was one of three officers. I graduated from the police academy in April 2005. Shortly after, I stood up to the chief of the PD (over something stupid, I don't remember what) & he commenced to making my life hell. He succeeded, after 5 months of torment, in making me quit, not only because of the torment, but the effects it had on my health. Now the problem is that he has blacklisted me & has stated to many people that he will make sure I never work anywhere as a police officer again. After I resigned, he even contacted my new boss (not in the same field of work) to tell him that he should fire me. The problem is that I want to be a police officer more than anything & this man is making sure that it never happens. There were 2 police depts. that I applied with & everything was good until they did the background check/references & spoke to my former chief. I have gone so far as to hire a professional reference checking agency to see what kind of remarks he would make about me--they were not flattering. He has no basis for any of his comments & everything he says about me is untrue. I just want my career back. I don't want to work as a security guard for the rest of my life (nothing against security guards), but I am a certified police officer & I worked hard to get that. I can't afford an attorney. Are there any type of governing agencies that I could file a complaint with? What can I do? I just want a job & my good name back.What is the name of your state?

 

[apd]

In addition to the afore mentioned problem, there is also the situation of my personnel file. Any police agency that I apply to can request my personnel file to reveiw any kind of conduct issues, complaints, commendations or whatever, in order to assist in their decision to hire me. Before my resigation, I obtained a copy of the contents of my file (from the city clerk). In the file is documentation of an "ALLEGED" incident that resulted in a complaint by a private citizen. This "incident" was reported not long after the chief decided to come after me. The chief himself did the investigation, it was completely one sided & not to mention never happened in the first place. I was never reprimanded, & nothing ever came of it. The "complaint" was withdrawn by the citizen (this is in my file). Once the chief had finished his "investigation" I asked that he put his findings (that there was no substance to the complaint) in writing to be placed in my file. He refused. There are two other letters of warnings from my chief, which I was given copies of at the time, (again, alleged incidents that never happened; I maintain that he made up the complaints) but were not put into my file (I had seen what was in my file on other occasions). Mysteriously after I pissed off the chief, these letters of warning were in my file. I'm not saying that those things shouldn't be in my file, if they were true, but I was never given notice that these letters would become part of my permanant record, nor was I given the chance to respond in writing to these allegations & have my response as part of my file as well. The Police Officer's Bill of Rights states "Law enforcement officers shall have the opportunity to comment in writing on any adverse materials placed in his or her personnel file." Is there any way to have my personnel file "expunged" of the derrogatory items. Nothing that is in my file is true. This is truly ruining my chances of ever being a police officer again.

 

[magic55]

Not much you can do but call up the chief and make ammends.

 

[apd]

Not possible. And not because of pride or anything like that, if it was that simple I would do that. This goes much deeper than what is stated here. This was only scratching the surface. Thanks anyway.

 

[xylene]

Consider moving out of state to a major metropolitan area with a strong demand for law enforcement professionals

Areas like:
Much of AZ
Los Angeles
Miami Dade
Portland OR

Think of other agencies and career paths that want certified police officers:
Park / Forest Ranger
Border Patrol
ATF and State Liquor Authority Police units
Corrections Officers
Transit or Housing Authority Police
Bodyguard (security guard with glamourous lifestyle and PAY!)

With the demand for personnel with your skills and training you WILL find a job.

Do you have meth skills / training. Do you know how many police departments want that?

Believe me, if you take your job search nationwide and consider the whole range of law enforcement careers you will find an attractive job in no time flat, no matter what comes out of Chief Bill Gillespie's mouth.

Yes I know my pop culture reference is to the wrong state...

I hope Carl stops in and gives you some good input too.

 

[apd]

Thanks for the good suggestions. I have already thought about some of those jobs, but you also brought to light some that I hadn't considered. As a matter of fact, I do have an interview in a few weeks for a State Park Ranger position.

You have noooo idea how fitting your pop culture reference is Thanks again!

 

[justalayman]

Not trying to burst your bubble but if you graduated in 4/05 and you are already out of a job and it took 5 months of the chief working to get you to leave, that means you butted heads about 3 months after academy. While you may be the cop that stops all the crime in the world someday, 3 months after academy is a very short time to be "standing up" to the boss. Unless the boss was extremely derelict in his duties and obligations, you were extremely out of line. This itself shows a very poor side of you. You might want to do a bit of introspection.

If you desire the career path of law enforcement, you need to be able to control yourself in some extremely testing situations without making a mistake. You already made one mistake when you argued with the boss for what you termed "something stupid, I don;t remember what". Not a good reference there as far as self control in a high stress situation, especially since you don;t even recall what it was about. That is mistake number 2. As a cop, you need to remember details of situations, even when you are extremely stressed. To be able to be a good witness, you have to be able to do this.

Not that any of this excuses the actions of the chief, it speaks volumes about where you are in your career.

As xylene posted, hopefully Carl (the cop) will stop by and give some input. He is a sensible guy with some really good people skills. Although I have never met him, I have a lot of respect for him and I generally do not care to deal with cops.

 

[apd]

In all due respect, you have no idea of the type of person this man is. Yes, he is derilict in duty, he is not a good cop, he has no respect for the law, other police officers or any regard for the safety of the citizens. I have not claimed to be "super cop". As I said in my statement, there is much more to the story than what is seen on the surface & what I have stated in this forum. If you must know, I do know what the disagreement was about, I chose not to disclose it in this forum as it was of a personal matter & nothing to do with the performance of my duties as a police officer. So, before you go judging me, you might try stepping off of your high-horse for just a moment & take the time to see that yes I realize, I am a new graduate & have a lot to learn, but all the academy training & years of experience in the world can not provide the character skills, ethics & moral fiber that this man lacks. Don't judge me, just because you don't like cops.

 

[justalayman]

In all due respect, you have no idea of the type of person this man is. Don't judge me, just because you don't like cops.

I didn;t say I did't like cops, just don;t care to deal with them. A subtle difference. I also did not infer that you were nor claimed to be a "super cop". I stated that although you may become a "super cop", at this point in your career, you should be listening and watching those who can teach you wisdom concerning this career.

Now we come to mistake 3. Apparently you did not investigate this particular police force before you applied to be a member of the same. Not a wise move.

Now about the incident. Originally you stated you didn;t remember what it was about and now you state it is of a personal nature. You lied. But Oh, the cheif has no moral values. You could have presented it as "it was of a personal matter of no importance to this situation" but no, you felt it better to lie.

I also was not trying to judge you. I was simply making some observations. I made those observations based upon what YOU posted. I changed nothing from what you posted when referencing your info. I just posted from a different point of view. You, obviously, are adverse to any criticism. Maybe this played a part in your troubles.

Everything I stated was very correct based upon your post. Now you come back with a real attitude. While I originally felt you may have been unjustly treated by the chief, I see now that you do have a control problem. This may also be a part of your troubles.

I would surely like to hear the chief's point of view on this. I suspect it would be a very different story.

If this guy does so many things that are in contrast with the duties he is charged with, there are avenues to address them. You have never mentioned any attempt of taking this to the proper and higher authorities. If this guy is so bad, don;t you feel you should protect those that he is endangering?

Good luck in your career. Unless you are very different than you come across to be, I would get used to "rent-a -cop" status.

 

[john123456]

What is the name of your state? KY

Until 12/05 I worked as a police officer in a small town. I was one of three officers. I graduated from the police academy in April 2005. Shortly after, I stood up to the chief of the PD (over something stupid, I don't remember what) & he commenced to making my life hell. He succeeded, after 5 months of torment, in making me quit, not only because of the torment, but the effects it had on my health. Now the problem is that he has blacklisted me & has stated to many people that he will make sure I never work anywhere as a police officer again. After I resigned, he even contacted my new boss (not in the same field of work) to tell him that he should fire me. The problem is that I want to be a police officer more than anything & this man is making sure that it never happens. There were 2 police depts. that I applied with & everything was good until they did the background check/references & spoke to my former chief. I have gone so far as to hire a professional reference checking agency to see what kind of remarks he would make about me--they were not flattering. He has no basis for any of his comments & everything he says about me is untrue. I just want my career back. I don't want to work as a security guard for the rest of my life (nothing against security guards), but I am a certified police officer & I worked hard to get that. I can't afford an attorney. Are there any type of governing agencies that I could file a complaint with? What can I do? I just want a job & my good name back.What is the name of your state?

You do not remember the reason for your detrimental health and the demise of your career? Such a profound and devastating affect on your life? I am sorry; your story does not pass the smell test.

 

[apd]

I don't believe I came off with an attitude, it was not intended that way. But once again, you know nothing of the situation & the type of "small town politics" that come in to play here. There is no higher authority. There is the mayor who chose not to deal with the situation. There are no governing boards. Just 2 cops a chief & a mayor. I informed the mayor & city council of his actions, wrote letters to my state representative as well as the State Criminal Justice Department and the Secretary of State. So the answer to your question is yes, I did attempt to take it to the proper authorities.

It's a small town of 1200 people. The whole town knows how crooked this man is & the type of activities he partakes in. Everyone takes the attitude of "if it doesn't affect me, I don't care" That alone is the reason this man is still employed. And of course if you asked to hear his side of the story, it would be much different. But because his story would be different, that makes me the bad guy?

You are trying to make me out to be someone that I am not. I am not adverse to criticism, I do not have control issues, I am not a liar. I am well aware of the type of person it takes to be a cop & the stressful situations that one is put under. Yes, I only graduated in 4/05, but I had already been with the dept for 6 months when I entered the academy in 12/04, I was a police officer with a different PD for almost 1.5 years, I was in the Navy as an MA (Navy MP) for 2 years & a corrections officer for 2. I know what it takes to do the job.

As far as investigating the PD before I joined, I was not hired by this man. I was hired by the Asst. Chief. The chief was out on medical leave at the time & was not expected to come back to work. He came back 2 months after I started. So in relying on him not returning to work was my mistake. However, at that point I just wanted to get through the academy & try to get on with a different PD. Around here, it is hard to get in to a PD at the entry level without the acadamy certification. This PD gave me the chance to do that, & I took it.

 

[apd]

You do not remember the reason for your detrimental health and the demise of your career? Such a profound and devastating affect on your life? I am sorry; your story does not pass the smell test.

That's ok. You are entitled to your opinion. And I did state the reason for the health problems & the end of my career, it was the torment & harassment this man put me through.

I know what happened & that what I have stated here is the truth. I merely came to this forum to explain my situation & to see if there was anything that could be done about it. I don't want to sue anyone, I'm not looking for easy money, I just want my career back. I really don't care if you believe me or not, my question was answered & I am tired of defending myself. Thank you everyone for your comments.