300 police misconduct allegations made by other officers, records show

Punching a man in a wheelchair

Reporting officer(s): Brittany Iriart
Year: 2019
Agency: Denver Sheriff
State: Colorado

Iriart, an internal affairs investigator, concluded that a Denver police officer should be disciplined for lying about punching a man in a wheelchair, who was handcuffed, in the head. When the department exonerated him, Iriart tipped off a local reporter, who requested video of the incident. Iriart later resigned under threat of termination and received $9,300 in severance.

Beating

Planting drugs

Reporting officer(s): David Sims
Year: 2012
Agency: Madisonville Police
State: Texas

Sims was tipped off by a confidential informant that Sgt. Jeff Covington intended to plant drugs in Covington’s ex-wife’s car so she would be arrested and he would gain leverage in their child custody dispute. Sims told the chief, whom he said did nothing, so Sims copied recordings of Covington and the confidential informant discussing the plan and gave them to the Texas Rangers.

Covington then initiated a series of IA investigations against Sims, who was later fired for violating the department’s computer-use policy. The police chief referred Sims for criminal charges, and he was indicted by a grand jury. The district attorney eventually dismissed the charges in the interest of justice. The chief also tried to have Sims’ certification revoked but was overturned by the state board.

Meanwhile, Covington followed through with his plan and had meth planted in his ex-wife’s car. She was arrested. However, the charges against her were later dropped, and Covington was ultimately convicted and sentenced to five years probation.

Dishonesty

Death of Ronald Greene

Reporting officer(s): Albert Paxton
Year: 2019
Agency: Louisiana State Police
State: Louisiana

Paxton told a state Senate committee he was retaliated against for refusing to participate in a cover-up in the case of Ronald Greene, who died in state police custody after being beaten and stunned with a Taser. Paxton filed for early retirement in January 2022.

Beating

Culture of misconduct

Reporting officer(s): Ryan Adler
Year: 2013
Agency: Redwood City Police
State: California

Adler said after he reported a culture of misconduct and unprofessional behavior within the department, he was placed on medical leave and forced out of his job. “The real problem that we have right now is that we have a system that does not allow good cops to come forward,” Adler said. “You have a system where if you complain, you’re ostracized, and you’re shunned, and you might not get cover on that next call when you need help.”

Source

Harassment/bias

Beating a man in custody

Reporting officer(s): Michael Billioni
Year: 2013
Agency: York County Sheriff
State: South Carolina

York County corrections officer Billioni told his wife, who worked for a local TV station, about a surveillance video of his colleagues beating a man in custody. The man died and his death was ruled a suicide. After the TV station filed a public records request for the video, Billioni was placed under investigation and then fired.

Beating

Sexual harassment

Reporting officer(s): Mark Begley
Year: 2012
Agency: Kauai Police
State: Hawaii

Begley, an asssistant police chief, said he was the target of investigations and other retaliation after he reported that a female officer had been sexually harassed by another assistant chief.

Harassment/bias

Sexua messages and images

Reporting officer(s): Austin Handle
Year: 2020
Agency: Dunwoody Police
State: Georgia

Handle and other officers in the department accused a top supervisor of pressuring them to send him nude photos of themselves. Handle said he was fired days after making his complaint, ostensibly for speeding. An internal investigation confirmed that the supervisor had exchanged sexual messages and images with his subordinates, but Dunwoody’s police chief determined that the behavior was consensual — a contention that Handle and other officers dispute. Handle, who posts videos on TikTok detailing his experience, later became a board member of The Lamplighter Project, an organization that encourages whistleblowing in law enforcement.

Harassment/bias

Abuse of prisoners

Reporting officer(s): Bryan Collins
Year: 2013
Agency: Orleans Parish Sheriff
State: Louisiana

Collins, who provided information to the press and to the Southern Poverty Law Center about rapes, stabbings and poor conditions at tne Orleans Parish Prison, faced an internal and a criminal investigation for bringing a cellphone, which he had used to document the problems, into the prison. His civil suit was dismissed by a judge.

Other

Assaulting a drunken driver

Reporting officer(s): Twana Powell, Joseph Brodeur
Year: 2017
Agency: Michigan State Police
State: Michigan

Powell and Brodeur spoke up against a fellow officer who they said pulled a drunken driver from his car and slammed his head onto the ground.

Other excessive force

Illegal searches and seizures

Reporting officer(s): Charles Ankenbauer
Year: 2012
Agency: Naples Police
State: Florida

Ankenbauer wrote a letter to department leaders sharing concerns that the pressure to increase arrest stats had caused officers to potentially conduct illegal searches and seizures. Years later, he was fired for posting racist statement online.

Tasing

Shaking down drug dealers

Reporting officer(s): Shannon Spalding, Danny Echeverria
Year: 2012
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

Spalding and Echeverria worked with the FBI to convict narcotics officers who were shaking down drug dealers. They were called rats and blackballed within the department. “God help them if they ever need help on the street…it’s not going to come,” a police official reportedly said.

Dishonesty

Death in custody

Reporting officer(s): Javier Esqueda
Year: 2020
Agency: Joliet Police
State: Illinois

Esqueda, a field training officer and 28-year veteran of Joliet PD, heard shortly after George Floyd’s death that two of his former trainees were involved in a suspect’s in-custody death. He accessed dashcam video of the incident, and he said what he saw disturbed him. Esqueda gave the footage to a CBS Chicago reporter, who aired it along with an interview with Esqueda.

The department brass cleared the officers involved of criminal wrongdoing and arrested Esqueda for recording and leaking the video. As of September 2021, Esqueda was facing four counts of official misconduct and up to 20 years in prison if convicted. “I knew they would come after me,” Esqueda said in an interview with Paste BN. “I never thought they would go this far.”

Other excessive force

Beating a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Jeffrey Tyler
Year: 2015
Agency: New Orleans Police Department
State: Louisiana

Body camera footage captured Officer Alfred Moran using force against a handcuffed man. Moran, Officer Lewis Simmons and Officer Christopher Jennings were fired for not disclosing the incident and for lying when questioned by investigators. Tyler was suspended for five days without pay but kept his job because he ultimately cooperated with investigators.

Source

Beating

Bending badges to indicate fatal shootings

Reporting officer(s): John Whitney
Year: 2019
Agency: Vallejo Police
State: California

Whitney urged superiors to investigate a group of fellow officers who bent the tips of their badges to commemorate a fatal shooting. Whitney was fired soon after for allegedly factory resetting his department-issued cell phone before it could be inspected.

Other

SWAT mafia

Reporting officer(s): Tim Colomey
Year: 2017
Agency: Los Angeles Police
State: California

Colomey alleged in a whistleblower lawsuit that he faced retaliation after giving internal affairs investigators information about excessive force and a culture of violence within the so-called “SWAT mafia.” Colomey, a former member of the SWAT unit, said he was transferred to the airport as punishment (because it increased his daily commute) and that colleagues made disparaging remarks about him being an enemy.

Other excessive force

Fatal crash

Reporting officer(s): Brandon Eller, Quinn Carmack, Fred Rice
Year: 2011
Agency: Idaho State Police Department/Payette County Sheriff
State: Idaho

Officers Eller and Carmack, members of a vehicle crash reconstruction unit, said they declined directives from superiors to alter a report that concluded a fellow officer was responsible for a fatality. Eller and Carmack said they faced retaliation, including reassignment off the crash unit and getting passed over for pay raises.

Driving

Beating a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Noel Womack, Pantamitr Zunggeemoge
Year: 2011
Agency: Los Angeles County Sheriff
State: California

Six deputies were involved in the beating of a handcuffed man and then conspired to cover up what had happened. Womack and Zunggeemoge later took plea deals and agreed to testify for the prosecution. The four other deputies were convicted.

Beating

Bragging about getting away with murder

Reporting officer(s): John Umenhofer
Year: 2013
Agency: Springfield Police
State: Oregon

Umenhofer reported to supervisors an array of misconduct, including that a cop had sex in an undercover car in a parking lot where kids were present and that a SWAT team member bragged that he’d gotten away with murder after he killed an unarmed 15-year-old. Umenhofer said his complaints were ignored, so he shared his concerns with city officials, who sent his complaint back to police leadership.

Umenhofer said he became the target of retaliation and had to go on medical leave due to stress. The police chief ultimately resigned amid an investigation that he was having an affair with a subordinate on city time — something Umenhofer had earlier reported. Umenhofer tried to return to work after a new chief was hired, but the new chief urged him to retire instead. Umenhofer declined and requested a transfer to the DA’s office, the DEA task force, or the jail. Instead, he was offered jobs as a janitor or a librarian. When he declined to take them, he was fired.

After he filed a lawsuit, a settlement agreement changed his firing to retirement and he went to work for as an investigator for the DA. He also was paid $250,000.

Other

Illegal strip search

Reporting officer(s): Chris Trame
Year: 2014
Agency: Illinois State Police
State: Illinois

Major Trame, after reviewing dash cam footage, reported that a state trooper had conducted an illegal strip search. The trooper was convicted of a misdemeanor.

Other

Robbing drug dealers

Reporting officer(s): Eric Jones, Antonio Malone
Year: 2014
Agency: East Cleveland Police
State: Ohio

Jones and Malone reached plea deals and agreed to testify against fellow officers accused of robbing drug dealers and lying to secure their arrests. The scandal sparked a review of each officer’s prior cases and resulted in at least two dozen overturned convictions.

Financial

Unprofessional behavior

Reporting officer(s): James Cleavenger
Year: 2014
Agency: University of Oregon Public Safety
State: Oregon

Cleavenger complained about an array of what he considered unprofessional behavior that was tolerated within the department. Most notable was that a supervisor maintained a list of celebrities and local people who should “eat a bowl of dicks,” and that an inordinate amount of work time was devoted to discussing and adding to the list. Cleavenger said the chief retaliated by firing him. After an arbiter changed his punishment to three days, the chief placed Cleavenger on a list of officers who couldn’t be trusted to testify in court.

Harassment/bias

Poor working conditions

Reporting officer(s): Jarrett Young
Year: 2016
Agency: Anaheim Police
State: California

Young wrote a memo to the mayor and city manager alleging that the police chief and assistant chief had committed time theft by taking off-the-books vacation days. Both were ultimately cleared. However, the chief resigned as part of a settlement of a civil suit he filed, which claimed intolerable working conditions because he had not been allowed to discipline Young for misconduct. Young filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that he had faced retaliation.

Financial

Sexual misconduct

Reporting officer(s): Don Bales
Year: 2014
Agency: Fort Smith Police
State: Arkansas

Bales was fired after he was accused of leaking a report that found another officer had let a prostitute touch him sexually before identifying himself as an officer and then arresting her. “I was fired for telling the truth and the people involved know that,” Bales said. “Instead of investigating the misconduct, they investigated and fired me.”

Source

Other

Case fixing and threats

Reporting officer(s): Tory Green
Year: 2014
Agency: Huntsville Police
State: Alabama

Green, a rookie cop, reported to superiors that a veteran officer had offered him a bribe to persuade him to fix a cocaine case. Green agreed to wear a wire and was transferred to the mayor’s security detail after he was threatened by the veteran cop, who later was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.

Source

Financial

Bribery

Reporting officer(s): Jeffrey Gragg
Year: 2016
Agency: Wagoner County Sheriff’s Department
State: Oklahoma

In a deal with prosecutors, Gragg pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and agreed to testify against sheriff Bob Colbert after both Gragg and Colbert had been accused of accepting a $10,000 bribe. Colbert ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and left office.

Financial

Drug use

Reporting officer(s): Unnamed deputies
Year: 2015
Agency: Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department
State: Georgia

Gwinett County deputies arrested a colleague after they spotted methamphetamine in plain view at his home, where they had gone to serve administrative paperwork.

Source

Other

Retaliation for an arrest

Reporting officer(s): Robert Ronceray
Year: 2011
Agency: Millburn Township Police
State: New Jersey

Ronceray reported to the chief that a superior officer had directed him to not arrest the superior’s girlfriend and questioned him about charging his girlfriend’s mother. An internal affairs investigation into the superior officer was “not sustained.” Ronceray, in a lawsuit he later filed, alleged that department officials retaliated against him by denying him a promotion. A jury agreed and awarded Ronceray $145,000 in lost wages and future pension earnings.

Source

Other

Shoving a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2015
Agency: St. Petersburg Police
State: Florida

Two officers, who were not publicly identified, reported a colleague who shoved a handcuffed man to the ground and then falsely claimed on his arrest report that the man had resisted and tried to fight back. The incident was caught on surveillance video and the officer resigened before he was set to face discipline. “I’m glad the officers stepped up and did the right thing,” Police Chief Tony Holloway said. “It says a lot about our culture here.”

Other

Racism, bullying and sexism

Reporting officer(s): Frederick Lahovski, Stephen Schleig
Year: 2012
Agency: Nazareth Police
State: Pennsylvania

Lahovski said he was fired after he accused the police chief and city council members of racism, bullying and sexism. Schleig, who was Lahovski’s union representative, said he also faced retailation for advocating for Lahovski. Lahovski’s firing was changed to retirement and he received a $440,000 settlement in his civil suit.

Source

Harassment/bias

Drunken driving

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2015
Agency: Dallas Police
State: Texas

Officers arrested a fellow Dallas cop for suspected drunken driving after they found him staggering from a car he’d partially submerged in water. Inside the car was a plastic cup that smelled of alcohol. The arrested officer, who had been on duty, admitted he had been drinking whiskey but said he had not been driving. He was later acquitted.

Driving

Crash investigation

Reporting officer(s): Greg Johnson, Raymond Glover
Year: 2014
Agency: Courtdale Police
State: Pennsylvania

Johnson and Glover provided testimony against two fellow officers accused of interfering in a drunken driving crash investigation involving one of the accused officer’s friends. Charges were dropped against one of the officers. The other accused officer was found not guilty on two counts, and the jury deadlocked on a third.

Dishonesty

Towing cars

Reporting officer(s): Bruce Miller
Year: 2014
Agency: King City Police
State: California

In an agreement with prosecutors, Miller pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and testified against officers accused of targeting low-income Hispanic residents in an illegal scheme involving towing cars and bribery.

Financial

Slamming an elderly man to the ground

Reporting officer(s): Charles Spence, Clint Harrell
Year: 2015
Agency: Madison Police
State: Alabama

In a use of force case that drew international attention, Spence testified that a fellow officer had needlessly slammed an elderly man to the ground, severely injuring him. The man was an Indian national visiting his son in America for the first time, and he did not understand police commands because he did not speak English. Allegations concerning retaliation came later, but not from Spence or Harrell, a supervisor who said he had to order the accused officer to file a more complete report of the incident. Eight officers told a federal judge that they feared their police chief planned to retaliate against them for their testimony in support of the officer who injured the elderly man.

Beating

Assaulting a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Joseph Crystal
Year: 2011
Agency: Baltimore Police
State: Maryland

Crystal, a Baltimore Police officer, reported two officers for assaulting a handcuffed man. The accused officers were ultimately convicted. Crystal was demoted, found a dead rat on his windshield and fellow officers did not respond to his calls for backup. Crystal resigned in 2014.

Beating

Retiree misconduct

Reporting officer(s): D’Andre Lampkin
Year: 2015
Agency: Los Angeles County Sheriff
State: California

Lampkin said he saw a retired deputy receiving oral sex in an area known for prostitution. According to Lampkin’s lawsuit, the retiree pulled his badge and threatened him not to report it. Lampkin did report the incident and was later suspended. His lawsuit was pending as of February 2022.

Source

Other

Obstructing an investigation

Reporting officer(s): John Amirault
Year: 2015
Agency: Malden Police
State: Massachusetts

Amirault told the district attorney the chief had obstructed investigations into criminal cases involving City of Malden employees. The chief and the city denied the allegations. Amirault was later removed as head of the detective unit. His civil suit was settled for $150,000.

Dishonesty

Unsolved hit and run

Reporting officer(s): Ismael Haro
Year: 2012
Agency: Blue Island Police
State: Illinois

Haro discovered inconsistencies in another detective’s investigation of a hit-and-run that killed an 11-year-old boy and reported the detective to the state. The detective, who later became Haro’s supervisor, reassigned him and suspended him. Haro’s legal claims were settled for $1.3 million. The detective retired and the case remained unsolved as of February 2022.

Dishonesty

Reporting sexual harassment

Reporting officer(s): Gregory Gray II
Year: 2016
Agency: Madison County Sheriff
State: Alabama

Gray says he was suspended and removed from the SWAT team after he encouraged a fellow officer to report sexual harassment by her supervisor. The supervisor denied any harassment. Gray’s civil suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Source

Harassment/bias

Race discrimination

Reporting officer(s): Tell Beharry
Year: 2015
Agency: New York Police
State: New York

Beharry claimed two officers he supervised made a racial discrimination complaint, which he forwarded to the NYPD’s office of equal employment opportunity. He claimed he was denied overtime and “preferred supervisory roles” afterward. His lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Harassment/bias

Beating a man

Reporting officer(s): Christine Riley
Year: 2020
Agency: Westover Police
State: West Virginia

The mayor fired Riley, a police department administrative assistant, after she and 10 police officers signed a letter detailing their concerns about a white officer who was recorded beating a Black man. She sued in February 2021.

Beating

Falsifying records

Reporting officer(s): Laverne Vann
Year: 2017
Agency: Philadelphia Police
State: Pennsylvania

Vann claimed she complained to several department leaders that her boss instructed narcotics officers to flip people caught with drugs, then falsify paperwork so they could go free. She said she was later forced to undergo bike training in retailiation even though she had never learned to ride a bike and was injured. Her civil suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Dishonesty

Double Dipping

Reporting officer(s): Elie Van Horn
Year: 2017
Agency: Port Arthur Police
State: Texas

Van Horn reported a sergeant to internal affairs for having an affair with a psychic instead of investigating a missing person. Van Horn claimed he later discovered that several officers were engaged in double dipping – working off-duty assignments while they were being paid as on duty for the police department. He reported both of these claims and more to the district attorney and the Texas Rangers. Retaliation against Van Horn included demotion to patrol without training, threats against him and his wife, and fellow officers twice planting cocaine in his desk, according to his lawsuit. The sergeant later resigned. Van Horn’s suit was settled for $250,000.

Dishonesty

Wrongful promotion

Reporting officer(s): Robert Marino
Year: 2012
Agency: Sierra County Sheriff
State: New Mexico

Marino complained to human resources that the sheriff had not followed county rules when promoting someone. The sheriff was forced to withdraw the promotion. Marino was later fired for being out of radio range when his patrol car became partially submerged in a creek. He claimed the firing was retaliatory. His lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Other

Not charging for jail space

Reporting officer(s): Johnny Whittle
Year: 2013
Agency: Arkadelphia Police
State: Arkansas

Whittle, a city officer, claimed he was fired in retaliation for reporting that the sheriff was not charging the city to house prisoners in exchange for political support from the police chief and city manager. Whittle challenged the sheriff during an election and lost. His civil suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Source

Financial

Discrimination

Reporting officer(s): Byford “Peter” Whittingham
Year: 2011
Agency: Los Angeles Police
State: California

Whittingham claimed he was denied a promotion in retaliation for speaking up for fellow officers, including testifying during an administrative hearing in favor of a Black officer who claimed discrimination. A judge dismissed some claims in his federal suit and gave him the opportunity to amend others.

Source

Harassment/bias

Quota system

Reporting officer(s): Dan Gregg
Year: 2010
Agency: Los Angeles Police
State: California

Gregg claimed he was denied overtime and forced to retire after he complained and testified in a lawsuit by fellow officers that a quota system existed in their division. The department denied it, but the officers won judgments of more than $2 million. Gregg’s lawsuit claiming retaliation was settled for $950,000.

Quotas

Retaliation claim

Reporting officer(s): James Gordon
Year: 2011
Agency: Los Angeles Police
State: California

Gordon said he was demoted after he provided a deposition in favor of a fellow officer who had claimed retaliation. His suit against the city was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Harassment/bias

Under-reporting violent crime

Reporting officer(s): Lillian Caranza
Year: 2016
Agency: Los Angeles Police
State: California

Caranza claimed she was passed over for a promotion, denied training and sent to help evacuate people from a wildfire area despite her breathing problems after she told her supervisors and the inspector general that the department was underreporting violent crime. They denied wrongdoing, and her civil suit was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Dishonesty

Driving through toll booths

Reporting officer(s): Mark Garza
Year: 2011
Agency: Los Angeles Police
State: California

Garza claimed he was transferred when he complained about a captain illegally driving through toll booths and then transferred again after he testified in a fellow officer’s retaliation suit, among other things. That officer was awarded $1 million. Garza’s own civil suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Source

Harassment/bias

Vote of no confidence

Reporting officer(s): Raymond Montero
Year: 2011
Agency: Yonkers Police
State: New York

Montero, a former union official, claimed he was wrongly investigated by internal affairs and transferred after he called for a vote of no confidence against the police commissioner and challenged the union president. He also said pictures of the Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz” were placed around his office. His lawsuit was dismissed by the court.

Source

Other

Discrimination, bias and nepotism

Reporting officer(s): Philip Satherthwaite
Year: 2020
Agency: Louisville Police
State: Kentucky

Satterthwaite served as diversity and inclusion officer, tasked with identifying potential discrimination, bias and nepotism within the department. When he received troubling reports and tried to analyze hiring data, he was demoted and taken off the job, according to a lawsuit. Satterthwaite also said a police department-owned vehicle repeatedly “stalked and surveilled” his home. His lawsuit was pending as of February 2022.

Source

Harassment/bias

Kicking and punching a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Abraham Lugo, Paul Zienowicz
Year: 2020
Agency: Providence Police
State: Rhode Island

Lugo and Zienowicz testified against Sgt. Joseph Hanley, who was convicted of misdemeanor assault for kicking and punching a man who was already handcuffed and on the ground.

Source

Beating

Assault by a lieutenant

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2016
Agency: Detroit Police
State: Michigan

An officer complained to the state Department of Civil Rights that he was reassigned to the day shift even though he wasn’t available to work days and was forced to go on medical leave in retaliation for reporting that his partner had been assaulted by their lieutenant. Documents provided to Paste BN do not list the outcome of the complaint.

Source

Other

Illegal quotas

Reporting officer(s): Craig Tuer
Year: 2016
Agency: Michigan State Police
State: Michigan

Tuer complained to the state Department of Civil Rights that he was threatened with termination when he refused to enforce illegal quotas, so he told his story to the media. The day after the story aired, he was suspended. His bosses denied quotas were used. Documents provided to Paste BN do not list the outcome of the complaint.

Quotas

Acting confrontationally with a citizen

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2015
Agency: Detroit Police
State: Michigan

A Black female officer claimed she was reassigned after she complained about a white officer acting confrontationally with a citizen. Documents provided to Paste BN do not list the outcome of the complaint.

Source

Harassment/bias

Illegally entering an apartment

Reporting officer(s): Stephen Cannon
Year: 2018
Agency: Baldwin Police
State: Georgia

Cannon said he was fired for complaining about other officers, one of whom illegally entered the apartment of a suspect’s girlfriend and tased her and another who struck a handcuffed suspect. Cannon also had complained on behalf of his pregnant girlfriend, who also worked at the department, when she was not placed on desk duty despite a note from her doctor saying she should be. Cannon’s civil suit was settled for an undisclosed amount. As part of the settlement, the mayor wrote a letter saying he had been cleared of wrongdoing.

Source

Other excessive force

Fraudulent business practices

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2011
Agency: Josephine County Sheriff
State: Oregon

A detective sergeant compliained to the county personnel director about what he believed were fraudulent business practices, medical benefits fraud and age discrimination. The sergeant filed a retaliation complaint with the state labor board that alleged harassment on the job and being laid off even though he had seniority in the department. The board dismissed his complaint for lack of evidence.

Source

Dishonesty

Embezzling public funds

Reporting officer(s): Undislosed
Year: 2015
Agency: Deschutes County Sheriff
State: Oregon

A lieutenant complained to the state labor board that he was demoted and placed on leave for cooperating in the investigation of a captain, who was ultimately convicted of embezzling public funds. The board dismissed his complaint, saying there was not enough evidence to prove retaliation.

Source

Financial

Criminal conduct

Reporting officer(s): Daren Krag
Year: 2015
Agency: Klamath County Sheriff
State: Oregon

Krag reported potentially illegal behavior by the sheriff, who was later convicted of five misdemeanors. Kraig said he was subjected to retaliation, including denial of training, edits to his performance evaluations to make them negative, and intimidation of his wife. His state labor complaint was settled.

Other excessive force

Making offensive comments

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2016
Agency: Umatilla County Sheriff
State: Oregon

A deputy was suspended after he reported a sergeant for making nonessential schedule changes, making offensive comments and disregarding officer safety. The state labor board dismissed his complaint for lack of evidence that the deparement’s actions were retaliatory.

Source

Other

Sexual misconduct

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2015
Agency: Washington County Sheriff
State: Oregon

A deputy asked a friend to send an anonymous report to the sheriff reporting that three fellow deputies had preyed on multiple women — civilians and sheriff’s office employees — while on duty. The friend copied the media and the county commission. All three deputies were convicted in court. The deputy who reported them was fired for leaking the information.

Sexual assault

Unsafe conditions

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2016
Agency: Turner Police
State: Oregon

An officer complained to the state labor bureau that it was unsafe to leave the doors of the police station unlocked during the day. She also reported concerns about the handling and storage of evidence, firearms and ammunition. She was later fired. The state complaint was dismissed when she filed a lawsuit, which was pending as of January 2022.

Source

Other

Abusing a mentally ill person

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2020
Agency: Portland Police
State: Oregon

An officer was reassigned for a month and suspended for one day after talking to the media about a mental health patient who had been handcuffed and forced to sit in freezing weather. In his state labor complaint, the officer said he went to the media only after he reported the incident internally and nothing was done. Records provided to Paste BN do not indicate the resolution of the complaint.

Source

Other

Wrongdoing by a trooper and a captain

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2015
Agency: Louisiana State Police
State: Louisiana

An officer’s attorney contended he was suspended and threatened in retaliation for his role in “exposing the wrongdoings” of a trooper who resigned amid an investigaiton and a captain who was reassigned.

Source

Dishonesty

Abusing overtime

Reporting officer(s): Addisen Entmeier
Year: 2011
Agency: Fort Smith Police
State: Arkansas

Entmeier filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming he was fired in retaliation for providing information that his captain’s wife, a dispatcher, had abused overtime. His lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Financial

Reporting officer(s): Richard Sneath
Year: 2013
Agency: Clackamas County Sheriff
State: Oregon

As early as 2013, Sneath, then the vice president of the corrections officers union, told commanders in the sheriff’s office that inmate checks were below standards. In a lawsuit, Sneath claimed numerous types of retaliation, including being blamed for an inmate’s suicide and twice being referred to the district attorney, who declined to file charges against him. Fellow corrections officers also made antisemitic comments toward Sneath, who is Jewish. He filed numerous lawsuits, one of which remained open as of February 2022.

Other

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2016
Agency: Clackamas County Sheriff
State: Oregon

A corrections deputy complained to the state labor board that she was fired in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment of a fellow deputy. Records provided to Paste BN do not indicate how the complaint was resolved.

Source

Harassment/bias

Reporting officer(s): Dave Starling
Year: 2014
Agency: Licking County Sheriff
State: Ohio

Starling filed a complaint against a deputy for sexually harassing a female sergeant. Starling retired after he and the woman were subjected to what they said were retaliatory disciplinary investigations for minor infractions. The accused deputy denied wrongdoing.

Source

Harassment/bias

Reporting officer(s): Randy Hays, Bailey Coletta
Year: 2017
Agency: St. Louis Police
State: Missouri

Hays and Coletta accepted plea deals and testified against three fellow officers charged with beating an undercover officer they mistook for a protester. Onwumere, who later became an FBI agent, testified that he witnessed the incident. He was not charged. One officer who went to trial was acquitted, one was convicted of a felony, and the third pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after two mistrials.

Source

Beating

Reporting officer(s): Ten officers
Year: 2012
Agency: Suffolk County Police
State: New York

Ten officers cooperated with prosecutors in their case against Chief James Burke, who was convicted and sentenced to 46 months in prison.

Source

Beating

Reporting officer(s): Joseph Kauser
Year: 2016
Agency: St. Anthony Police
State: Minnesota

Kauser testified during the trial of Jeronimo Yanez, who was charged with manslaughter in the shooting of Philando Castile. Kauser said there was nothing unusual about the traffic stop and he was not in fear of Castile. He also said he thought Yanez followed protocol. Yanez was acquitted but was fired.

Source

Shooting

Racist statements at roll call

Reporting officer(s): Fellow officers
Year: 2017
Agency: Portland Police
State: Oregon

Fellow officers reported to command staff that a sergeant made a statement about killing Black men at roll call. The sergeant was fired and appealed. Under a settlement deal with the city, he was given back pay and allowed to retire on the condition that he never work as a city officer again.

Harassment/bias

Firebombing

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2013
Agency: Edison Township Police
State: New Jersey

Edison Police Officer Michael Dotro threatened an officer from another department who pulled over a friend of his and refused to void the ticket. A supervisor found out and ordered Dotro to submit to a “fitness for duty” evaluation. Within days, the supervisor’s house was firebombed while he, his wife, his elderly mother and his two children slept inside. All of them escaped out a back door. Dotro pleaded guilty to several charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Other

Beating an arrestee

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2015
Agency: Walhalla Police
State: South Carolina

An officer reported to his supervisors that another officer had beaten a suspect. The accused officer was charged with third-degree assault and battery, but the charge was dropped when the victim didn’t show up for court.

Source

Beating

Protecting a drug dealer

Reporting officer(s): Timothy Murphy, Mike Halbleib
Year: 2014
Agency: Bullitt County Sheriff
State: Kentucky

Murphy and Halbleib assisted in the investigation of Sheriff David Greenwell, who was acquitted of five charges.

Dishonesty

Pornographic text message

Reporting officer(s): James Stegmaier
Year: 2011
Agency: Reno Police
State: Nevada

In a lawsuit, Stegmaier claimed he was forced to resign after reporting a lieutenant for accepting a comped room at a hotel and a sergeant for sending him a pornographic text message. Stegmaier also said he turned over a file about a third member of the force. The city said an internal investigation found Stegmaier had pointed his gun at other officers. At trial, a jury found in the city’s favor.

Harassment/bias

Racial slurs and harassment

Reporting officer(s): Charles Gable
Year: 2015
Agency: Howard County Sheriff
State: Maryland

Gable complained he was fired in retaliation for reporting the sheriff for using racial slurs and harassing workers. The sheriff later resigned. Gable was reinstated with back pay.

Harassment/bias

Racially biased policing

Reporting officer(s): Jeffrey Mason
Year: 2013
Agency: Miami Gardens Police
State: Florida

Mason was fired after he testified in favor of a group who claimed they had been subjected to racially biased policing. Mason, who with others formed the Concerned Black Police Officers’ Association, also appeared on television with his identity disguised. His lawsuit against the department was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Other

Inappropriate relationship with an inmate

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2012
Agency: Gwinnett County Sheriff
State: Georgia

A sergeant was suspended after she accused her supervisor of having an inappropriate relationship with an inmate. The merit board upheld the punishment, saying she had no evidence to support her complaint.

Source

Other

Racist and sexist remarks

Reporting officer(s): Curtis Killian
Year: 2011
Agency: Abbeville Police
State: South Carolina

Killian, who is white, complained to his captain that the chief had made racist and sexist remarks. Dissatisfied with the response, he shared his concerns with a city council member. He was later forced to go on six weeks of unpaid bereavement leave when his wife died, was demoted and then fired, according to a lawsuit he filed against the department. The suit was settled for an undisclosed amount,

Harassment/bias

Killing of George Floyd

Reporting officer(s): Eight officers
Year: 2020
Agency: Minneapolis Police
State: Minnesota

Eight fellow officers testified against Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd. Chauvin was convicted and sentenced to 22½ years in prison.

Source

Other excessive force

Killing of Justine Diamond

Reporting officer(s): Matthew Harrity
Year: 2017
Agency: Minneapolis Police
State: Minnesota

Harrity testified that his partner, Mohamed Noor, fired the shot that killed Justine Damond before he had time to analyze the threat. Noor was convicted o third-degree muder and second-degree manslaughter, but the murder conviction was overturned by the state Supreme Court. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison on the manslaughter count.

Shooting

Racial slurs

Reporting officer(s): Whitney Dukes
Year: 2016
Agency: Lake Wales Police
State: Florida

Dukes was the only Black female officer at the department when she said she heard a co-worker, Travis Worley, use a racial slur against a Black man in 2016.  Dukes said that after she reported him, her supervisors began disciplining her for trivial infractions, including for time she missed while serving as an Army reservist. She eventually resigned and took a job as a school resource officer in another jurisdiction. Worley, who has been accused of using the same racial slur at least twice more since Dukes first reported him, was cleared of wrongdoing.

Harassment/bias

Burying a domestic violence complaint

Reporting officer(s): Jason Roberts
Year: 2017
Agency: Columbia Police
State: South Carolina

Roberts went public with concerns that the department had tried to bury a domestic violence complaint against one of its chaplains, who he said had a history of domestic violence. He was reassigned and suspended after he was found to have committed conduct unbecoming an officer. He later resigned and filed a lawsuit, which was pending as of February 2022.

Source

Other

Selling weapons

Reporting officer(s): Norman Carter
Year: 2018
Agency: Boise Police
State: Idaho

Carter claimed a lieutenant was openly selling weapons to officers and members of the public through a private company he ran from his office at the police station. The lieutenant retaliated, according to a lawsuit filed by Carter. The suit was pending as of January 2022.

Source

Other

Covering for a cop's daughter

Reporting officer(s): Matthew LaManna
Year: 2015
Agency: Parsippany Police
State: New Jersey

In a lawsuit, LaManna said he overheard a lieutenant tell officers to cover up the fact that a cop’s teenage daughter had been talking on her cellphone during a crash. He later complained about an illegal quota system and said he was retaliated against by being denied promotions. The suit remained pending as of January 2022.

Source

Dishonesty

Financial issues and sexual harassment

Reporting officer(s): Sommer Miller, Brett Mandel
Year: 2020
Agency: Philadelphia Police
State: Pennsylvania

In separate lawsuits, Miller and Mandel accused the chief of retaliating because they reported financial malfeasance and called upon the sheriff to investigate allegations of sexual harassment against her chief of staff. Miller’s suit remained pending as of January 2022. Mandel’s case was settled for more than $385,000.

Financial

Procedural and safety problems

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2011
Agency: Madison County Sheriff
State: Florida

A deputy claimed he was fired after writing memos to the sheriff describing procedural and safety concerns and talking to a fellow deputy about what he believed was improper use of drug forfeiture money. He also claimed the sheriff had discriminated against him based on his age. Records provided to Paste BN did not include the outcome of his complaint.

Source

Financial

Conduct unbecoming

Reporting officer(s): Ronnie Norris Williams
Year: 2013
Agency: Gadsen County Sheriff
State: Florida

Williams, who is Black, complained that he was fired in retaliation for reporting a white supervisor for conduct unbecoming and for refusing to void traffic tickets at another white supervisor’s request. The Florida Commission on Human Relations dismissed his complaint because it was not filed within the required time frame.

Source

Other

Illegal quota system

Reporting officer(s): Mark Armendariz
Year: 2013
Agency: Burbank Police
State: California

Armendariz, who was president of the union, filed a lawsuit alleging that he was fired for failing to participate in an illegal quota system and for criticizing department leaders. The suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Source

Quotas

Sexual harassment by a supervisor

Reporting officer(s): Chrisavgi Sourgoutsis
Year: 2015
Agency: US Capitol Police
State: District of Columbia

Sourgoutsis, a probationary officer with the U.S. Capitol Police, claimed she was fired after she cooperated in a sexual harassment investigation against a supervisor. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount after a mixed jury verdict and an appeal.

Source

Harassment/bias

Changing dispatch codes

Reporting officer(s): Melanie Corrigan, Dawn McKnight
Year: 2017
Agency: Custer County Sheriff
State: Idaho

According to a complaint McKnight filed with the state, Corrigan, a dispatcher for the sheriff’s office, was slated to testify at a hearing regarding her supervisor, who was accused of illegally taking prescription drugs turned in by citizens. At the behest of the sheriff, who was her husband, the supervisor also allegedly routinely changed incident reports daily to make crimes sound less serious. In another case, a friend of the supervisor’s allegedly killed someone and called her instead of 911. Corrigan killed herself before the supervisor’s disciplinary hearing. Documents provided to Paste BN do not include the outcome of the investigaiton.

Source

Dishonesty

Use of force audit

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2015
Agency: Multnomah County Sheriff
State: Oregon

A sergeant claimed he was demoted and forced to reitre and an officer was fired after a use-of-force audit they conducted found that force was more often used against Black jail inmates. A jury found in the sergeant’s favor and awarded him $334,000 in damages.

Source

Other excessive force

Racial discrimination

Reporting officer(s): George Avet
Year: 2018
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

Avet claimed he was subjected to unwarranted fitness-for-duty exams after he testified in support of a fellow officer who had filed a racial discrimination suit. Avet’s lawsuit was pending as of January 2022.

Source

Other

Criminal misconduct by superiors

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2017
Agency: Bakersfield Police
State: California

An officer was fired for running a red light in his squad car. He contends that was a pretext, and he was actually fired in retaliation for reporting criminal misconduct by his superiors. His lawsuit was pending as of February 2022.

Other

Potentially unsafe jail conditions

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2017
Agency: Riverside Sheriff Association
State: California

A woman who worked for the union told the state labor board she was threatened with firing after she told fellow union members about potentially unsafe conditions at the jail. Documents provided to Paste BN do not list the outcome of the investigation.

Source

Other

Withholding evidence

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2016
Agency: Sacramento County Sheriff
State: California

An officer was suspended after she reported her sergeant and captain for withholding evidence, according to a complaint she filed with the state labor department. Documents provided to Paste BN do not include the outcome of the investigation.

Source

Dishonesty

Failure to protect an officer from COVID

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2020
Agency: El Centro Police
State: California

An officer filed a complaint with the city that police had failed to take an officer at risk of COVID-19 out of the field as recommended by the CDC. The officer later contracted COVID-19 and died. The officer who complained was placed on administrative leave afterward, he said in a complaint to OSHA. Documents provided to Paste BN do not list the outcome of the complaint.

Source

Other

False overtime for a Rolex

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2015
Agency: Miami Dade Police
State: Florida

An officer called the county’s ethics hotline to report that a lieutenant was collecting $150 from each officer to buy a $7,500 Rolex watch for the outgoing major. The officer alleged that the lieutenant told him he would be reimbursed by being paid overtime for hours he did not work. After the officer contributed only $20, he was reassigned. Documents provided to Paste BN do not list the outcome of the investigation.

Source

Financial

Sexual harassment

Reporting officer(s): Robert Perez
Year: 2013
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

Perez told internal affairs he was transferred in retaliation for speaking up on behalf of a woman who was being sexually harassed. His complaint was ruled unfounded.

Harassment/bias

Crash in a department vehicle

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2015
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

An officer told internal affairs a fellow officer who got in a crash asked him to falsify her driver’s license number on the report. The officer says he refused but later discovered it had been changed anyway. His complaints were ruled not sustained or unfounded. He also reported discrimination based on his race and sexual orientation to the state but later withdrew that complaint.

Source

Dishonesty

Late for work

Reporting officer(s): Centeria Moore-Powell
Year: 2014
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

Moore-Powell complained to internal affairs that she was given a parking ticket in retaliation for reporting that officers under her command had been late for work. Her complaint was ruled unfounded.

Source

Other

Sexual harassment

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2014
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

A sergeant complained that he was reassigned in retailation for assisting a female officer in filing a sexual harassment complaint. The department ruled his complaint as not sustained.

Source

Harassment/bias

Misuse of funds

Reporting officer(s): Tracy Woodard
Year: 2015
Agency: Atlanta Police
State: Georgia

Woodard, the police department’s business manager, contended she was fired because she reported to her supervisors that some in the department had overspent and misused funds, including to purchase SUVs for the mayor’s personal use. She did not prevail in a civil suit.

Financial

Lying on police reports

Reporting officer(s): Timothy White, Matthew Purvines, Zachary Faircloth
Year: 2013
Agency: Crestview Police
State: Florida

Purvines and Faircloth testified that their major, on trial for racketeering, had ordered them to lie on police reports. The major was convicted and the chief was fired. The new chief fired Purvines and Faircloth for falsifying the reports. Their lawsuit was settled under undisclosed terms.

Source

Dishonesty

Hiding an informant

Reporting officer(s): James Sexton
Year: 2011
Agency: Los Angeles County Sheriff
State: California

Sexton cooperated with the FBI but refused to wear a wire after he helped hide a prisoner who was an informant from federal officials. He did not enter a plea agreement and was later charged, convicted at trial and sent to prison. After his sentencing, he testified against Sheriff Lee Baca and was released early.

Other excessive force

Violent arrest

Reporting officer(s): Albert Sutterlin
Year: 2012
Agency: Bloomfield Police
State: New Jersey

Sutterlin initially lied on his reports about a violent arrest. After he was criminally charged, he agreed to testify against the two other officers who participated. Sutterlin was convicted of a misdemeanor and sentenced to probation. The other two were convicted of official misconduct and sent to prison.

Other excessive force

Robbing drug dealers

Reporting officer(s): Miguel Flores
Year: 2012
Agency: Hidalgo County Sheriff
State: Texas

Flores wore a wire and cooperated with the FBI after fellow deputies tried to get him to join them in robbing drug dealers. Several deputies and the sheriff were criminally convicted. Flores later told reporters he thought he had done the right thing by reporting them, but his life had been ruined. His legal claims were dismissed by a judge.

Financial

Financial crimes by the mayor

Reporting officer(s): Steve Blakeney
Year: 2014
Agency: Pine Lawn Police
State: Missouri

Blakeney, who was later convicted for facilitating an illegal arrest against a political candidate, provided information to the FBI about financial crimes committed by the mayor, who was later criminally convicted. Blakeney also reported two fellow officers to the FBI for allegedly illegally disposing of evidence of civil rights violations against a jail inmate. Blakeney, who was fired, filed a whistleblower suit that was dismissed by a judge. He filed an appeal, which was pending as of January 2022.

Financial

Stealing from a man who was pulled over

Reporting officer(s): Walter “Kepa” Ahuna
Year: 2015
Agency: Maui Police
State: Hawaii

An officer stole $1,800 from a man he pulled over. After the man complained, several officers tried to bribe him in an attempt to get him to to drop his complaint. Ahuna told the officers several times that the plan was a bad idea but didn’t report it because one of the other officers involved was his cousin. Ahuna and the others were later convicted of crimes.

Source

Financial

Taking bribes from bar owners

Reporting officer(s): Steven Lee, Yatyu Yam
Year: 2012
Agency: New York Police
State: New York

More than 20 officers were investigated for taking bribes from the owners of karaoke clubs that were engaging in prostitution. Lee alleged in a lawsuit that he alerted his bosses that a lieutenant was planning to frame another officer for rape as a way to shield the scheme from scrutiny. After that, Lee was passed over for promotions and subjected to an internal investigation.

Financial

False overtime

Reporting officer(s): Joel Hughey, Eddie Bradford
Year: 2014
Agency: Gibson County Sheriff
State: Tennessee

Several jail staffers entered plea agreements and provided information to the FBI about a false overtime scheme, leading to the convictions of the former Gibson County sheriff.

Source

Financial

Murder investigation

Reporting officer(s): Juan San Agustin Jr.
Year: 2013
Agency: El Paso County Sheriff
State: Colorado

San Agustin said he was wrongly arrested on charges of kidnapping and false arrest in retaliation for telling reporters police failed to arrest a suspect for the murder of Colorado prison chief Tom Clements. A prosecutor dismissed the criminal case against San Agustin and a judge dismissed his whistleblower suit.

Dishonesty

Police chief fired

Reporting officer(s): Dave Bailey, Paul Broxterman, Scotty Johnson
Year: 2015
Agency: Cincinnati Police
State: Ohio

Two dozen officers cooperated in an investigation by the city manager that resulted in the firing of the police chief.

Harassment/bias

Jump outs in Black neighborhoods

Reporting officer(s): Charlotte Djossou
Year: 2015
Agency: Metropolitan Police
State: District of Columbia

Djossou reported to supervisors that officers were using forbidden “jump out” techniques in Black neighborhoods. Later, she complained that a supervisor told officers at roll call not to turn on their body cameras until after they had started searches. In a 2020 lawsuit that remained pending as of March 2022, she alleged that she was passed over for promotions and subjected to unwarranted internal affairs investigations.

Harassment/bias

Fatal shooting

Reporting officer(s): Michael Luna, Kenneth Reichle
Year: 2014
Agency: Riverside County Sheriff
State: California

A deputy fatally shot a man while on duty. He was initially cleared of wrongdoing, but investigators later learned that the deputy and the man he shot had both been involved with the same woman. The deputy was then charged with homicide. Luna told the grand jury he had alerted his supervisor, Reichele, to the rumor that the shooting may have been motivated by a love triangle, but the supervisor didn’t tell the investigators on the case. Reichele testified that he told his captain but nothing was done.

Source

Shooting

Planting drugs

Reporting officer(s): Jeremiah Ardoin
Year: 2020
Agency: Baton Rouge Police
State: Louisiana

Jeremiah Ardoin, a detective in the Baton Rouge Police Department, went public with allegations that officers throughout the department’s narcotics squad were allegedly planting drugs, engaging in cover-ups, filling quotas, and conductiong illegal stop-and-frisks. His disclosures have led to a Justice Department investigation and a department-wide shake-up. Ardoin said fellow officers set him up on criminal charges and planted drugs in his vehicle before forcing him to resign.

Source

Quotas

Arrests for fake heroin

Reporting officer(s): Rishar Pierre Monroe
Year: 2019
Agency: Raleigh Police
State: North Carolina

Monroe and other officers told his supervisors a fellow officer was arresting Black men for possession of heroin when they really had brown sugar, which was planted by a confidential informant. A lawsuit filed by those who had been arrested claimed that the supervisors didn’t take action and that the arrests continued. The charges against them were ultimately dismissed.

Dishonesty

Disciplining subordinates

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2016
Agency: New Orleans Police
State: Louisiana

A sergeant was reassigned after his supervisor disagreed with how he handled the discipline of subordinates. An investigator in the mayor’s office said he should be returned to his original position.

Source

Harassment/bias

Sexual harassment

Year: 2016
Agency: New Orleans Police
State: Louisiana

An officer said he was fired after speaking up to defend a female officer who was being sexually harassed.

Source

Harassment/bias

Supervisory misconduct

Reporting officer(s): Randy Sandifer
Year: 2018
Agency: New Orleans Police
State: Louisiana

Sandifer claimed his performance evaluation, which had been positive, was redone to make it negative after he made a misconduct complaint against his supervisor. The complaint of retaliation was not sustained by the department.

Source

Dishonesty

Unethical conduct

Reporting officer(s): Nicholas Abramson
Year: 2020
Agency: Marshalville Police
State: Ohio

Abramson complained to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission that he was fired in retaliation for reporting possible unethical conduct by the chief to the mayor. The commission dismissed his complaint.

Source

Other

Safety concerns

Reporting officer(s): Felicia Bivins
Year: 2018
Agency: Cuyahoga County Sheriff
State: Ohio

After Bivins said she felt unsafe guarding a jail pod of men alone with no training, supervisors detained her after a shift and treated her “like an inmate,” she said in a complaint to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. It was dismissed because it was not filed in a timely manner.

Harassment/bias

Problems at the jail

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2020
Agency: Cuyahoga County Sheriff
State: Ohio

A Black officer reported to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission that he was denied a promotion because he had written letters to management bringing to light problems at the jail. The commission dismissed his complaint.

Source

Harassment/bias

Unfair treatment

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2019
Agency: Franklin County Sheriff
State: Ohio

A group of male officers filed a human resources complaint alleging unfair treatment by their female boss. Afterward, she filed an EEOC complaint against them and referred them for criminal investigation. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission said it was “not probable” that she had filed the complaint in retaliation.

Source

Harassment/bias

Falsifying police reports

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2019
Agency: Dayton Police
State: Ohio

A Black officer said two white officers made false statements about him in police reports, but nothing was done. He claimed his shift was changed and he was not allowed to use accrued sick leave time.

Source

Dishonesty

Insurance fraud

Reporting officer(s): Cesar Torres
Year: 2021
Agency: Edinburg Police
State: Texas

Torres, the chief of police, was suspended by the city manager after reporting a subordinate to the FBI for participating in an insurance fraud scheme. The case had been brought to Torres by an internal affairs investigator who was afraid to pursue it because the officer suspected of wrongdoing had political connections.

Source

Financial

Bias against a Black officer

Reporting officer(s): David Jackson
Year: 2019
Agency: Joliet Police
State: Illinois

Jackson, president of the Black officers’ union, issued a media statement on behalf another Black officer who was being recommended for termination. According to his civil suit, Jackson was subjected to an internal investigaiton for doing an interview without authorization. Later, Joliet supervisors took over a domestic violence investigation against Jackson, who said they withheld exculpatory evidence. His civil suit was pending as of January 2022.

Source

Harassment/bias

Racist actions

Reporting officer(s): Lionel Allen
Year: 2015
Agency: Joliet Police
State: Illinois

Allen, who is Black, was reassigned and complained that his replacement, a white male, had a history of racist actions. Allen was reported to internal affairs for making untrue statements about the white officer, even though he had evidence to back up his comments. His civil suit was pending as of January 2022.

Source

Harassment/bias

Covering up details of inmate deaths

Reporting officer(s): Eric Ivey, Marcus Harris, Robert Marsh
Year: 2018
Agency: Cuyahoga County Sheriff
State: Ohio

In a deal with prosecutors, Ivey pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and agreed to testify against the corrections director, Ken Mills, and other guards involved in covering up the details of inmate deaths. Marsh also agreed to testify and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for punching an inmate in a restraint chair. Harris, the former jail nursing director, first criticized Mills for the deaths in 2018. Harris resigned after being subjected to racial and homophobic slurs. Mills was convicted of four misdemeanors.

Other

Traffic stop without cause

Reporting officer(s): Alan Lawson II
Year: 2013
Agency: Pine Lawn Police
State: Missouri

Lawson testified that a supervisor instructed a group of officers to pull over a man who had flashed his lights. The supervisor’s trial resulted in a hung jury. The supervisor was later convicted of a federal felony in a separate case. Lawson was later hired by another department.

Beating

Inappropriate texts

Reporting officer(s): Ryan Savoie
Year: 2020
Agency: Broussard Police
State: Louisiana

In a whistleblower suit, Savoie said he received inappropriate texts, Snapchat photos and messages from the chief and assistant chief. He didn’t report them until they also harassed his wife, an officer at another police department. She reported them to an outside agency.

Harassment/bias

Sexual harassment

Reporting officer(s): Andrew Blake Smith
Year: 2018
Agency: Whitfield County Sheriff
State: Georgia

Smith complained that his supervisor was sexually harassing a female officer. After he resigned, his former supervisors tried to get his state law enforcement certification revoked. His civil suit was pending in state court as of January 2022.

Source

Harassment/bias

Not enough masks

Reporting officer(s): Jay Brainard
Year: 2020
Agency: Transportation Safety Administration
State: federal

Brainard, an official in charge of TSA operations in Kansas, was reassigned after he reported to the Office of Special Counsel that workers didn’t have enough safety equipment and weren’t required to wear masks in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Other

Using drugs

Reporting officer(s): Tyler Smith
Year: 2019
Agency: Grant County Sheriff
State: Oregon

In a civil suit, Smith alleged he was brought up on bogus criminal charges after he reported a fellow deputy for using drugs and having a sexual relationship with an inmate. The suit and the charges were pending as of January 2022.

Source

Sexual assault

Unprofessional relationships with subordinates

Reporting officer(s): Brian Peete
Year: 2018
Agency: Almagordo Police
State: New Mexico

Peete accused the city manager and the city attorney of unprofessional relationships with subordinates. He was suspended for 10 days and later agreed to resign as part of a settlement in his lawsuit. The city manager also resigned.

Harassment/bias

Padding timesheets

Reporting officer(s): Laura Schook
Year: 2014
Agency: New Albany Police
State: Indiana

Schook accused fellow officers of padding their timesheets and conducting personal business while on duty. She was fired.

Source

Financial

Sexual harassment

Reporting officer(s): Robert Ledogar
Year: 2015
Agency: US Marshals Service
State: federal

A female deputy marshal confided in Ledogar, her supervisor, that she was being sexually harassed by members of a task force based on Long Island, N.Y. He says he was subjected to baseless internal investigations and fired after he reported it up the chain of command on her behalf.

Harassment/bias

Refusing to accept overtime pay

Reporting officer(s): Christian Sanchez
Year: 2011
Agency: US Customs and Border Protection
State: federal

Sanchez refused to be paid overtime for hours he didn’t work. He says after he faced retailation, he went public.

Financial

Discrimination and mismanagement

Reporting officer(s): Timothy Petoskey
Year: 2015
Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
State: federal

Petoskey reported discrimination, mismanagement and misuse of overtime. He says people were fired as a result of his disclosures, yet he still faced retaliation.

Harassment/bias

False reports

Reporting officer(s): John Moline
Year: 2018
Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
State: federal

Moline was investigated after he reported that the chief at the Sheridan, Wyoming, VA covered up when false reports were submitted, promoted his girlfriend and showed favoritism to his friends. Moline has since taken a new job.

Source

Dishonesty

Ethics violations

Reporting officer(s): Ghassan Ghannoum
Year: 2018
Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
State: federal

Ghannoum complained to federal officials that a private security firm run by the chief and two officers was a violation of ethics rules and that the chief had been covering up for one of the officers involved, whom he said was corrupt.

Source

Dishonesty

Waste, fraud and abuse

Reporting officer(s): Greg Chiles
Year: 2014
Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
State: federal

Chiles, a VA police officer, said that after he gave a written warning for speeding to the doctor who did the annual psychiatric evaluations, the doctor illegally accessed his medical records. Chiles went on to report other alleged waste, fraud and abuse to federal watchdogs.

Driving

Hidden cameras

Reporting officer(s): Tregg Wilson
Year: 2013
Agency: St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff
State: Louisiana

Employees told Wilson, chief deputy sheriff, that they had discovered a set of cameras in interview rooms. Wilson was fired after he reported the existence of the hidden cameras to the district attorney. His whistleblower lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Dishonesty

Targeting minorities

Reporting officer(s): Christopher LaForce, Edwin Raymond, Aaron Diaz
Year: 2015
Agency: New York Police
State: New York

Several officers of color complained to their supervisors about orders to ticket more Black and brown people for jumping turnstiles and other minor violations. They say they were denied overtime and vacation days and weren’t approved for off-duty security work.

Quotas

Poor leadership

Reporting officer(s): Michael Dunn
Year: 2018
Agency: Eunice Police
State: Louisiana

Dunn reported department leaders to local, state and federal authorities for allegedly condoning excessive force, neglecting inmate medical needs, mishandling evidence and misusing funds. Dunn claims department officials tried to get a man to accuse him of bribery in retaliation. Dunn’s lawsuit remained pending as of January 2022.

Source

Other excessive force

Quotas

Reporting officer(s): Daniel Swear, Paul Pichoff, David Heintz
Year: 2014
Agency: Gretna Police
State: Louisiana

Swear, Pichoff, Heintz and officer Paige Brouillette all left the department because of an alleged illegal quota system. Pichoff recorded a sergeant talking about the quotas. Swear has since been hired by another department, and his lawsuit was settled for $70,000. Heintz’s civil suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Quotas

Kicking a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Moses Black
Year: 2015
Agency: Gonzales Police
State: Louisiana

Black reported a fellow officer whom he says kicked a handcuffed man who had just been pepper-sprayed. Black was later fired, and his federal lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Beating

Bachelor party stings

Reporting officer(s): Liz Gomez, Marissa Sanchez, Jacquelyn Aluotto
Year: 2019
Agency: Harris County Constable
State: Texas

Male deputies set up so-called sex trafficking stings, instructing female rookies to strip and subject themselves to unwanted sexual touching during parties designed to identify sex workers. The male deputies allegedly got drunk and groped their colleagues during the events. The deputies and a victim advocate said they complained to the constable, but nothing was done. The deputies were later reassigned and the victim advocate was fired. They later filed a lawsuit, which remained pending as of January 2022.

Sexual assault

Refusing to approve a false report

Reporting officer(s): Isaac “Ike” Lambert
Year: 2017
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

Lambert refused to approve a report filed by a fellow officer, saying it contained lies about the shooting of Ricardo Hayes, who has autism. Lambert also did not charge Hayes, who survived, with any crime and said he was demoted to patrol as a result. The off-duty officer who shot Hayes was suspended for six months. Lambert’s civil suit against the city remained pending as of January 2022.

Shooting

Quotas

Reporting officer(s): Justin Hanners
Year: 2013
Agency: Auburn Police
State: Alabama

Hanners claimed he was fired after he spoke up against quotas and refused to meet them. His lawsuit against the city was dismissed.

Quotas

Shooting a man who wasn't a threat

Reporting officer(s): Bradley Rule, Steve Robinson, Ted Kleber
Year: 2012
Agency: Del City Police
State: Oklahoma

Two officers testified that Dane Scott Jr. did not pose a threat when Officer Randy Harrison shot and killed him. A third testified that Harrison seemed to have an unusual fixation with Scott. Harrison was convicted of felony manslaughter and sentenced to prison.

Shooting

Shooting a mentally ill man

Reporting officer(s): John Thomas, Samantha Lewis-Chavis
Year: 2014
Agency: Southport Police
State: North Carolina

Officer Bryon Vassey said he shot a mentally ill man because he feared for the safety of fellow officer Thomas. But Thomas and Lewis-Chavis, who worked for neighboring departments, later testified against him. Vassey was acquitted of criminal charges.

Shooting

Racism

Reporting officer(s): Bryan Turner
Year: 2015
Agency: Philadelphia Police
State: Pennsylvania

Turner was fired and criminally charged after sending an email about a supervisor’s racist statements and supporting Black Lives Matter. He was acquitted by a jury and his federal lawsuit was settled for $50,000.

Harassment/bias

Unqualified leaders

Reporting officer(s): Andrew Rhoades, Jay Brainard, Mark Livingston
Year: 2015
Agency: TSA
State: federal

Three federal supervisors at the TSA told Congress the agency had promoted unqualified people to leadership positions, resulting in bullying and chaos between 2011 and 2015. One said he was demoted after reporting a senior leader for sexual harassment and other misconduct. Two of the men filed lawsuits. One was dismissed. In the second, a jury found in favor of the government.

Other

Sexual assault

Reporting officer(s): Mark West
Year: 2018
Agency: University of Michigan
State: Michigan

West, a detective, was reassigned to road patrol after investigating sexual misconduct allegations against University of Michigan doctor Robert Anderson. Anderson, who has since died, was accused of sexually assaulting about 850 former university students. West was reassigned after the allegations became public. The police department said the reassignment was routine.

Source

Sexual assault

Failing to complete reports

Reporting officer(s): Darren Pead, Larry Golding, Jared Hansen
Year: 2017
Agency: Ephraim Police
State: Utah

Three officers reported that the police chief had failed to file complete reports over a 10-year period and a sergeant signed off on them when they were actually open cases. They later resigned after the city manager threatened to eliminate their positions.

Other

Wrongly dismissing a case

Reporting officer(s): Jesse Garcia
Year: 2014
Agency: Minneapolis Police
State: Minnesota

Garcia claimed he was fired after he protested the dismissal of a criminal case for what he thought were political reasons. He died of cancer a few months after his lawsuit was filed.

Source

Other

Illegal quota system

Reporting officer(s): Phyllis Bige
Year: 2011
Agency: Etowah Police
State: Tennessee

Bige claimed she was fired for refusing to follow an illegal quota system. She said she was told to follow it after supporting an unsuccessful candidate for the chief’s job. Her lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Quotas

Bullying and threats

Reporting officer(s): Denise Gabler, Peter Pfau
Year: 2012
Agency: Milwaukee Police
State: Wisconsin

Firearms instructors Gabler and Pfau claimed they suffered retaliation after reporting a third firearms instructor for bullying and making threats. Their lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge.

Other

Substance abuse

Reporting officer(s): Susan Bodden-Eichsteadt
Year: 2018
Agency: Milwaukee Police
State: Wisconsin

Bodden-Eichsteadt, an investigator for Milwaukee’s civilian oversight agency, claimed she was fired in retalitaiton for telling a mayoral staffer the commission’s executive director was showing symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Her federal lawsuit remained pending as of January 2022.

Other

Harassment

Reporting officer(s): Angelique Olaechea
Year: 2015
Agency: New York Police
State: New York

Olachea was reassigned and subjected to internal affairs investigations after she testified on behalf of a fellow officer who had claimed harassment. She later resigned and was awarded $872,000 by a jury in her civil suit.

Source

Harassment/bias

"Jim Crow culture"

Reporting officer(s): Brandon Hanks
Year: 2021
Agency: Syracuse Police
State: New York

Hanks, who is Black, said he was targeted by supervisors after they learned he intended to file a lawsuit alleging “a Jim Crow culture” throughout the department. In his lawsuit, Hanks said supervisors falsley labled him an associate of criminals and drug traffickers to justify retaliatory investigations into him. Several other current and former Black officers have since stepped forward, most of them anonymously, to corroborate his account.

Harassment/bias

Failure to hire Black officers

Reporting officer(s): John Baggett, Rickey Williams, Esteban Trotman
Year: 2015
Agency: Syracuse Police
State: New York

Three officers sued the department, claiming it had failed to follow a 1980s legal agreement to hire more Black officers. They also said they had been discriminatied against and were not promoted because of their race.

Source

Harassment/bias

Discrimination

Reporting officer(s): Joel Babbs
Year: 2016
Agency: San Francisco Police
State: California

Babbs said he has been repeatedly retaliated against since reporting supervisors for discrimination. The alleged retaliation includes being arrested and being accused of inappropriately touching a civilian police services aide.

Source

Harassment/bias

Taking a drunken driver home

Reporting officer(s): Nick Beyer
Year: 2021
Agency: Niles Police
State: Illinois

Beyer alleged a cover-up after fellow officers drove a suspected drunken driver home rather than arresting him. After he complained, Beyer, who was not at the scene, became the subject of a criminal investigation and three internal investigations and said another officer threatened to kill him.

Source

Dishonesty

Failure to process evidence

Reporting officer(s): Ken Phillips
Year: 2019
Agency: Baltimore Police
State: Maryland

Phillips, a Baltimore crime lab supervisor, filed an internal affairs complaint, met with the inspector general’s office and wrote a letter to the mayor about a backlog of unprocessed prints from burglaries, as well as evidence from thousands of murder, rape and carjacking cases that he said could help convict suspects or clear the wrongly accused. He was suspended as of August 2021, which he told reporters was retaliation for going public.

Source

Other

Discrimination and ethics violations

Reporting officer(s): April O’Dea, Ashley Peercy, Stan Salyards
Year: 2019
Agency: Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training
State: Kentucky

Six people who worked for the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation for reporting discrimination, ethics violations and other misconduct.

Source

Harassment/bias

Witness intimidation and harboring

Reporting officer(s): Cody Lattin, Ernest Saucedo
Year: 2017
Agency: Rio Arriba County Sheriff
State: New Mexico

Two officers testified against the county sheriff, who was on trial on charges of witness intimidation and harboring for allegedly helping a city councilman elude police in 2017. When the sheriff’s first trial resulted in a hung jury, he tried to file perjury charges against the officers. He was convicted during a retrial and sentenced to three years in prison.

Dishonesty

Disparate tratment of minority applicants

Reporting officer(s): Art Knight
Year: 2021
Agency: Minneapolis Police
State: Minnesota

Knight said he was demoted for calling out “hiring and recruitment policies that have a disparate impact on minorities who want to become police officers.”

Source

Harassment/bias

Unpaid overitme

Reporting officer(s): Steven Moore
Year: 2015
Agency: New Brighton Police
State: Minnesota

Moore said he was placed on paid leave after he filed a grievance complaining that officers weren’t paid overtime for mandatory training. The city settled his whistleblower lawsuit for $250,000.

Source

Financial

Reclassifying shootings

Reporting officer(s): Lorenzo Davis
Year: 2015
Agency: Chicago Independent Police Review Authority
State: Illinois

Davis, an investigator at Chicago’s Independent Police Review Authority and former police commander, determined that several police shootings were not justified. Other investigators agreed to change their findings, but Davis wouldn’t and was fired. After a jury trial and several appeals, he received $1.7 million in a lawsuit.

Source

Shooting

Culture of corruption

Reporting officer(s): James Cuff, John Meehan
Year: 2015
Agency: Suffolk County Police
State: New York

During the criminal trials of the Suffolk County, New York, district attorney and police chief, police officers testified that whistleblowers within the department were targeted for speaking to reporters and threatening to expose corruption. Trial transcripts show those in the brass’ inner circle targeted “enemies” within the department who spoke to reporters or threatened to expose corruption by going after their finances and families, as well as tapping their phones.

Beating

Quotas

Reporting officer(s): Bryce Morgan
Year: 2017
Agency: Monterey Police
State: California

Morgan claimed he was harassed and transferred after refusing to meet illegal quotas. A jury reuled against him in court.

Source

Quotas

Home security

Reporting officer(s): Marc Vanek
Year: 2020
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

Vanek says he was retaliated against after he complained about the superintendent ˗̵̶ then a lieutenant ˗̵̶ assigning officers to guard his house during protests.

Source

Other

Improper handling of stolen vehicles

Reporting officer(s): Joseph Thomas
Year: 2021
Agency: Ecorse Police
State: Michigan

Thomas said he was fired in retaliation for filing a whistleblower lawsuit that exposed corruption surrounding the handling of stolen vehicles at the department and City Hall.

Financial

Demanding accountability

Reporting officer(s): Dane Buchanan, J. Christopher Duerr, Winsome Thelwell
Year: 2020
Agency: New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board
State: New York

Four officials at the civilian board that oversees the New York Police Department filed a lawsuit claiming they were fired in part for “demanding greater accountability and transparency with respect to the handling of complaints of police misconduct against NYPD officers.” They said the agency’s executive director was too concerned with impressing police leaders and the mayor.

Other

Missing weapons

Reporting officer(s): Michele Williams
Year: 2018
Agency: Santa Fe Police
State: New Mexico

Retired Santa Fe Police Department Lt. Williams filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming she was forced out of the department for reporting alleged timecard fraud by a supervisor and missing weapons after a community gun buyback program. She submitted a memo on the discrepancies to the deputy chief and told the city manager. She was then put on administrative leave and targeted by two internal affairs investigations, she said.

Source

Financial

Aggressive discipline

Reporting officer(s): Joel Fitzgerald
Year: 2019
Agency: Fort Worth Police
State: Texas

In a lawsuit, former Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald claimed he was fired because he had been too aggressive in disciplining officers and supporting whistleblowers. He had planned to report the department to the FBI, the suit says.

Source

Other

A gang of deputies

Reporting officer(s): Austreberto Gonzalez
Year: 2020
Agency: Los Angeles County Sheriff
State: California

Gonzalez alleged that a member of a violent deputy gang known as the Executioners beat a fellow deputy in February 2020. Gonzalez reported it to an internal affairs tip line that was supposed to be anonymous. But within days, he was identified within the department as the caller. A fellow deputy sent Gonzalez a picture of graffiti at the station that said “ART IS A RAT,” and a dead rat was left at the home of the deputy who had been beaten, another deputy said in a deposition. Gonzalez said that supervisors forced him to resign from his position as a training officer, resulting in a pay cut, and that other deputies refused to partner with him. His lawsuit was dismissed by a judge, but an appeal was pending as of December 2021.

Other

Data collection

Reporting officer(s): George Loder
Year: 2017
Agency: Maine State Police
State: Maine

In a lawsuit against the Maine State Police, Loder claimed he was demoted after reported that the agency’s information center was illegally collecting data on gun buyers, protesters and people who worked at a camp for Israeli and Arab teens.

Dishonesty

Botching an investigatiion

Reporting officer(s): John Michael Trent, Rusty Rothwell, Christopher “Kirk” McCauley
Year: 2020
Agency: Little Rock Police
State: Arkansas

In a lawsuit, officers accused the chief and other department leaders of transferring them and trying to damage their credibility so they could hide the fact that a lieutenant botched an indecent-exposure investigation.

Source

Dishonesty

Politics

Reporting officer(s): Anthony Falco
Year: 2012
Agency: Hoboken Police
State: New Jersey

Falco, who served as chief from 2009 to 2014, claimed in a lawsuit that the the former mayor and public safety director retaliated against him for supporting their political opponents and for testifying on behalf of another police employee who sued for wrongful termination. Falco was denied benefits until he was forced to retire, he said in the suit, which was settled after he won an appeal.

Harassment/bias

Toxic culture

Reporting officer(s): Colleen Ryan
Year: 2020
Agency: Minneapolis Police
State: Minnesota

Ryan, who was an anonymous source for a GQ magazine article criticizing the department’s “toxic culture,” was reprimanded for speaking to the press without permission, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Harassment/bias

Quotas

Reporting officer(s): Franklin Paz
Year: 2020
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

Paz, a lieutenant, alleged in a lawsuit against the city that he was removed from a specialized unit because he wouldn’t force the officers he supervised to comply with quotas for arrests and traffic stops.

Quotas

Discrimination

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2020
Agency: Albuquerque Police
State: New Mexico

The police academy commander in Albuquerque was fired after an outside investigation found she retaliated against staff, threatened cadets who reported discrimination to human resources and transferred others out of the academy.

Harassment/bias

Non-compliance

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2011
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

An officer, whose name was redacted from records, claimed he was transferred from the gang unit back to patrol in retaliation for filing a complaint with the sheriff’s compliance officer. Internal affairs officials did not sustain the allegations.

Source

Other

Unethical behavior

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2016
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

A Cook County criminal investigator, whose name was redacted, told an inspector general he faced retaliatory discipline and reassignment after making several internal reports: money laundering, deputies failing to mirandize suspects, evidence that had been tampered with and supervisors who had forced him to withdraw felony charges against a politically connected Chicago attorney. The dispostion of the complaint was not included in the records released to Paste BN.

Source

Dishonesty

Unprofessional conduct

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2018
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

A member of the sheriff’s department alleged that a lieutenant routinely yelled at him over the radio and acted unprofessionally toward him after he wrote up a friend of hers. Witnesses confirmed the harassment, according to records from the internal affairs review, which found the lieutenant had broken department rules. Both the name of the complainant and the reason the lieutenant’s friend was written up were redacted from records provided to Paste BN.

Source

Harassment/bias

Violating union rules

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2018
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

A corrections officer, whose name was redacted from records, complained that supervisors broke union rules that allowed workers to take an hour of comp time in lieu of a lunch break. She claimed her bosses retaliated by assigning her to a less desirable post and writing her up for leaving an hour early even though she had approval to do so. Internal investigators did not sustain the allegations.

Source

Financial

Body camera recording

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2019
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

A courthouse deputy claimed her sergeant retaliated against her for filing a memo he didn’t like. She said he harassed her by recording her with his body camera for 45 minutes while she was at her post. Internal investigators did not sustain the complaint and redacted the deputy’s name from records.

Source

Other

Veiled online threats

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2020
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

A deputy whose name was redacted from records said two supervisors and a department attorney retailiated against her for complaining that several other deputies had made veiled Facebook threats against her and other Black Lives Matter protesters. The alleged retaliation consisted of sharing personal information about her family. Internal investigators did not sustain her allegations.

Source

Harassment/bias

Harassment

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2020
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

A corrections officer, whose name was redacted in department records, complained that her lieutenant reassigned her to less desirable posts after she complained to the superintendent about him. The department sustained charges of harassment against the lieutenant and found he was being untruthful during the investigaiton.

Source

Other

Mistreating prisoners

Reporting officer(s): Michael Erwine
Year: 2016
Agency: Churchill County Sheriff
State: Nevada

Erwine raised concerns to his supervisor about other guards mistreating inmates. In a lawsuit, he claimed he was labeled a “rat” and fired. He also alleged the sheriff put information in his employment file that prevented him from being hired by other departments. The sheriff said he fired Erwine for violating department rules. A federal judge dismissed Erwine’s claims.

Source

Other

Sexual assault

Reporting officer(s): Monica Blake-Beasley
Year: 2016
Agency: Metro Nashville Police
State: Tennessee

Blake-Beasley said she was raped by an ex-boyfriend who was also a police officer and reported it. Although the man was criminally charged, she said department leaders retaliated by opening bogus internal affairs investigations against her to discredit her. The man pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and resigned from the department. Her lawsuit against the department was settled for $150,000.

Source

Sexual assault

Nepotism

Reporting officer(s): Maile Rego
Year: 2021
Agency: Honolulu Police
State: Hawaii

Rego filed a lawsuit claiming she was placed on unpaid leave after a local news report that detailed complaints from her and several others about nepotism and discrimination by the head of the Criminal Investigations Division.

Source

Harassment/bias

Racially offensive comments

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2013
Agency: Wright County Sheriff
State: Minnesota

A biracial officer complained to the state office of human rights that he was denied a promotion after he reported co-workers for making racially offensive comments to him and to inmates. Documents provided to Paste BN do not list the outcome of the complaint.

Source

Harassment/bias

Berating a co-worker

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2018
Agency: Jackson Police
State: Mississippi

A commander complained to the city’s human resources department that a deputy chief had assigned him more hours and taken away responsibiities in retalation for his refusal to berate a fellow employee. An equal employment opportunity officer concluded there was not sufficient evidence to prove retaliation.

Source

Harassment/bias

Stealing fishing rods

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2019
Agency: Jackson Police
State: Mississippi

A high-ranking commander accused the police chief of retaliating against her and trying to intimidate her after she ordered the arrest of a newly hired inventory controller with stolen fishing rods in his car. The man, who had an extensive criminal record, was hired over the commander’s objections because the assistant chief wanted him to get the job, according to a memo the commander wrote to the chief. Records provided to Paste BN do not explain the outcome of the case.

Source

Financial

Discrimination against Black students

Reporting officer(s): Erik Roberts
Year: 2015
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

Roberts filed an internal complaint about discrimination against Black students and teachers at a sheriff’s office facility and served as a witness in a co-worker’s discirmination case. Roberts filed an EEOC complaint alleging he was denied a promotion in retaliation. The resolution of the case was not incuded in documents obtained by Paste BN.

Source

Harassment/bias

Discrimination and retaliation

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2018
Agency: Cook County Sheriff
State: Illinois

A deputy testified in support of another employee’s federal discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. He told state labor regulators the sheriff’s department retaliated against him by obtaining private mental health documents, placing him under surveillance and requiring that he complete a fitness-for-duty examination. The disposition of the deputy’s case was not included in documents obtained by Paste BN.

Source

Harassment/bias

Racism and sexual harassment

Reporting officer(s): Scott McGowan
Year: 2019
Agency: Williamstown Police
State: Massachusetts

McGowan, who had repeatedly complained about discrimination, racism and sexual harassment within the department, said he was targeted for termination. He claimed department leaders were retaliating against him, but other officers said he was guilty of the same behavior he complained about. McGowan has since retired.

Harassment/bias

Misspending on iPad data plans

Reporting officer(s): Zachary Kramer
Year: 2021
Agency: Shiner Police
State: Texas

Kramer, who was the chief, filed a lawsuit alleging he was targeted for firing after asking for an investigation into misspending for expensive data plans on three iPads that may have implicated a member of the City Council. He resigned after being placed on administrative leave. The suit remained pending as of January 2022.

Source

Financial

Lying under oath

Reporting officer(s): Matthew Gutwill
Year: 2016
Agency: Framingham Police
State: Massachusetts

Gutwill told the FBI a fellow officer had lied on the witness stand. He was later suspended and demoted. A court dismissed his lawsuit, contending he couldn’t prove his actions as a whistleblower “played a substantial or motivating part” in the punishments against him.

Source

Dishonesty

Using excessive force and lying

Reporting officer(s): Brian Morrison
Year: 2018
Agency: George Mason University
State: Virginia

Morrison alleged he was demoted and defamed after reporting fellow officers for using excessive force against a handcuffed arrestee and then lying on reports. His lawsuit remained pending as of January 2022.

Source

Other

Beating three teenagers

Reporting officer(s): Blake Norwood, Arthur Parker
Year: 2011
Agency: DeKalb County Sheriff
State: Georgia

Norwood and Parker reached plea deals with prosecutors after testifying that their supervisor, sergeant Anthony Robinson, ordered them to beat three teenagers. Robinson was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.

Beating

Fatal shooting of an unarmed teen

Reporting officer(s): Tyler Gross
Year: 2017
Agency: Balch Springs Police
State: Texas

Gross testified that his life was not in danger when officer Roy Oliver shot and killed an unarmed 15-year-old boy. The testimony, along with body cam footage contradicted Oliver’s defense that he only shot the teen to protect his partner. Oliver was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Shooting

Fatal shooting of LaQuan McDonald

Reporting officer(s): Dora Fontaine
Year: 2014
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

Fontaine testified against fellow officers in an alleged coverup concerning the high-profile police shooting death of Laquan McDonald. During her testimony, Fontaine said she had been ostracized by her colleagues. “Other officers were calling me a rat, a snitch, a traitor… . If I was at a call and needed assistance, some officers felt strongly enough to say I didn’t deserve to be helped,” she said. A judge ruled that the officers Fontaine testified against were not guilty.

Shooting

Assaulting a handcuffed teenager

Reporting officer(s): Nathan Roohr, Sal Guido
Year: 2016
Agency: Bordertown Township Police
State: New Jersey

Roohr secretly recorded the police chief making racist statements and turned the recordings over to the FBI after the chief assaulted a handcuffed teenager. The chief ultimately resigned and Roohr was promoted. Guido also testified against the chief but admitted that he had failed to report the chief’s assault.

Beating

Beating and intimidation

Reporting officer(s): Jake Church, Amanda Billings
Year: 2016
Agency: Madison County Sheriff
State: Alabama

Officer Justin Watson hunted down a man he’d fought in a bar and brutally beat him after a traffic stop. He then allegedly tried to intimidate Church, a fellow officer, and Billings, a dispatcher, because they cooperated in the investigation against him. Watson was sentenced to three years in prison.

Beating

Beating an unarmed man

Reporting officer(s): Regina Tasca
Year: 2011
Agency: Bogota Police Department
State: New Jersey

Tasca intervened to stop two officers who were beating an unarmed man she believed to be in emotional distress. Tasca was suspended, investigated and then fired.

Beating

Overtime scam

Reporting officer(s): Daren DeJong
Year: 2019
Agency: Massachusetts State Police
State: Massachusetts

Facing sentencing for a federal embezzlement conviction in a wide-ranging overtime scam, DeJong made a plea deal with prosecutors and helped them investigate fellow officers who received fraudulent payments.

Financial

Fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks

Reporting officer(s): Devin Brosnan
Year: 2020
Agency: Atlanta Police
State: Georgia

Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault in the high-profile death of Rayshard Brooks, who was shot by Brosnan’s partner, Garrett Rolfe. Brosnan disputed a district attorney statement indicating that he had agreed to testify against Rolfe. “I’m not a cooperating witness, I’m cooperating. I think that’s the takeaway,” Brosnan said.

Shooting

Sexually inappropriate comments

Reporting officer(s): Travis Brasfield
Year: 2019
Agency: Knoxville Police
State: Tennessee

Brasfield reported a subordinate for making sexually inappropriate comments, and then filed a complaint that department leadership was trying to avoid documenting the misconduct. Brasfield said he was transferred to a desk job to do “fruitless labor in an isolated conference room with no windows” and that leadership was looking for a way to terminate him. Brasfield resigned.

Harassment/bias

Reckless driving at a middle school

Reporting officer(s): Michael Legregni
Year: 2014
Agency: Bergenfield Police
State: New Jersey

Legregni refused to help cover up for a department supervisor involved in a reckless driving accident that was captured on surveillance video. Legregni said department leadership responded by opening internal affairs investigations into him and by telling him that “maybe this job isn’t for you.” In addition, Legregni reported that a colleague put a gun to his head and threatened to blow his brains out. Legregni was ultimately fired and filed a lawsuit. As part of a settlement, his firing was changed to retirement and he received $840,000.

Source

Driving

Planting drugs and brutality

Reporting officer(s): Murashea “Mike” Bovell, John Campo, Allen Patterson
Year: 2020
Agency: Mount Vernon Police Department
State: New York

Bovell secretly recorded officers discussing an array of misconduct, such as planting drugs to incriminate individuals, collaborating with drug dealers and unchecked police brutality. Bovell turned the recordings over to the district attorney’s office and then, after he saw no indication of an investigation, to the media.

The recordings include a supervisor referring to Bovell as a “rat,” and Bovell said he found a rubber rat near his locker. Campo, one of the officers on the recording, acknowledged his own misconduct and was suspended. Patterson, another officer on the recording who said he witnessed a fellow officer assault a suspect, said when he reported the incident to supervisors he was told he could transfer to another squad.

Dishonesty

Fatal shooting

Reporting officer(s): Stephen Mader
Year: 2016
Agency: Weirton Police
State: West Virginia

Mader, an ex-Marine, confronted an emotionally distressed man who was holding a gun and asking to be shot. Mader suspected the man wanted to commit “suicide by cop” and tried to calm him down. Two fellow officers arrived at the scene, and one shot and killed the man when he raised the gun, which was later found to be unloaded. Mader said he was harassed by fellow officers, branded a “coward” and fired.

Shooting

Beating a teen and her mother

Reporting officer(s): Abdul Pridgen, Vance Keyes
Year: 2017
Agency: Fort Worth Police
State: Texas

The police chief demoted Keyes and Pridgen after they were accused of leaking body camera video of another officer who used excessive force in the arrest of a 15-year-old girl and her mother. They deny leaking the footage.

Other excessive force

Fatal shooting

Reporting officer(s): Leonard Armijo
Year: 2017
Agency: Bernalillo County Sheriff
State: New Mexico

Armijo testified that a fellow deputy, who was the undersheriff’s son, had wronfgully shot and killed an unarmed man in the passenger seat of a stolen truck. Armijo said his superiors responded by alleging that he had lied and by launching an investigation into him.

Shooting

Possible wrongful conviction

Reporting officer(s): Scott McKee
Year: 2018
Agency: Springfield Police
State: Oregon

McKee told Paste BN he faced retaliation after he worked to free a possibly wrongly convicted man from prison because of a fellow officer’s shortcomings and investigated a fellow officer for excessive force. In an agreement reached before he filed a civil suit, McKee agreed to resign in exchange for a cash settlement from the city. 

Tasing

Shooting a man with his hands up

Reporting officer(s): Rodney Barnes, David Parker, Benjamin Kushner, David Neil
Year: 2013
Agency: Fairfax County Sheriff
State: Virginia

Four officers told internal affairs John B. Geer had his hands up when a fifth officer shot and killed him. The officer who fired the shot pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Shooting

Misusing department resources

Reporting officer(s): Andy Montalvo, Lawrence Cattano
Year: 2013
Agency: Perth-Amboy Police
State: New Jersey

Two officers testified against their chief, who was accused of using department resources to repair his personal vehicles. He was acquitted of criminal charges.

Financial

Selling drugs

Reporting officer(s): Matthew Hudak, Terrence O’Brien
Year: 2013
Agency: Schaumburg
State: Illinois

Prosecutors charged three Schaumburg officers of robbing drug dealers and selling the drugs themselves. Two pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the third, but charges against him were dropped before trial.

Source

Other

Kicking a restrained man in the face

Reporting officer(s): Cody Willis, Trudy Simonson, Lindsey Kenkel
Year: 2013
Agency: Des Moines
State: Iowa

Three officers testified that their co-worker kicked a man in the face while he was restrained on the ground. The officer was convicted of a felony.

Other excessive force

Robbing drug dealers

Reporting officer(s): Jermaine Hill
Year: 2013
Agency: Bibb County Sheriff
State: Georgia

Hill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and agreed to testify against fellow officers accused of robbing drug dealers. Three other officers later reached similar plea deals.

Other

Kicking a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Kyle French
Year: 2014
Agency: Allentown Police
State: Pennsylvania

French testified that a fellow officer kicked a handcuffed man twice in the head. The officer later pleaded guilty to three counts of simple assault and a single count of official oppression. He was sentenced to probation.

Beating

Death investigaiton

Reporting officer(s): Chris Graves
Year: 2012
Agency: Weld County Sheriff
State: Colorado

An officer told investigators he had overheard a corrections officer confess to killing his wife. He later testified against the jailer, who was acquitted in court.

Shooting

Beating a compliant man

Reporting officer(s): Andrew Henry, Jerry Rauch
Year: 2015
Agency: Alburquerque Police
State: New Mexico

An officer and a cadet said a man was not resisting when another officer beat him. The cadet reported the incident to supervisors. The officer accused of the beating pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and gave up his law enforcement certification.

Beating

Stealing from the evidence room

Reporting officer(s): Six department members
Year: 2013
Agency: Berkeley County Sheriff
State: West Virginia

Six members of the sheriff’s department testified during the trial of a captain who was accused of stealing guns from the evidence room and selling them. The captain testified he had mixed them up with his personal guns. He was convicted of embezzlement.

Financial

Smell of alcohol

Reporting officer(s): Seth Richardson
Year: 2015
Agency: Vermont State Police
State: Vermont

Richardson, a state trooper, said he smelled alcohol on a co-worker’s breath at the scene of a car crash they were investigating. The officer resigned. His trial on drunken driving charges resulted in a hung jury.

Driving

Burglary of drug dealers' homes

Reporting officer(s): Jeffrey Walker
Year: 2013
Agency: Philadelphia Police
State: Pennsylvania

Walker agreed to cooperate with federal authorities and testified against six fellow officers after he was caught trying to rob the home of a drug dealer. The allegations resulted in dozens of civil rights lawsuits and the reversal of 450 drug convictions, but all of the officers who went to trial were acquitted. All six got their jobs back and $90,000 each in back pay after arbitration.

Financial

Domestic violence

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2015
Agency: Orleans Parish Sheriff
State: Louisiana

A deputy intervened when he saw a co-worker choking his girlfriend outside the jail. A domestic violence battery charge against the man was dismissed at the woman’s request.

Source

Other excessive force

Hitting a handcuffed woman

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2012
Agency: Los Angeles Police
State: California

A sergeant testified at a disciplinary hearing that he told an officer to stop hitting a handcuffed woman, who was later pronounced dead of a drug overdose. The officer was later convicted of felony assault.

Beating

Fatal shooting of Eric Harris

Reporting officer(s): Ricardo Vaca, Miranda Munson, Joseph Byars
Year: 2015
Agency: Tulsa County Sheriff
State: Oklahoma

Three Tulsa County deputies testified for the prosecution at the criminal trial of Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, who fatally shot Eric Harris. Bates was convicted of second-degree manslaughter.

Source

Shooting

High-speed chase

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2015
Agency: Billings Police
State: Montana

A sergeant who reviewed dashcam video reported an officer involved in a high-speed chase because the video contradicted the officer’s account. The officer was fired.

Source

Driving

Punching a handcuffed prisoner

Reporting officer(s): Charles Mackey
Year: 2015
Agency: Maryland State Police
State: Maryland

Mackey testified that he saw a fellow trooper punch a handcuffed prisoner. The trooper was convicted of criminal charges, but the convictions were overturned on appeal.

Beating

Voiding the mayor's parking ticket

Reporting officer(s): Robert “R.J.” Ploof
Year: 2014
Agency: Edmonston Police
State: Maryland

Ploof filed a complaint with the state’s attorney that his chief voided the mayor’s parking ticket.

Source

Other

Throwing a woman to the ground

Reporting officer(s): Vidal Sipe
Year: 2013
Agency: Hickory Police
State: North Carolina

Sipe testified against a fellow officer accused of throwing a woman to the ground after getting her out of his squad car. The officer was criminally convicted of using unreasonable force.

Other excessive force

Sexual misconduct

Reporting officer(s): John Umenhofer
Year: 2013
Agency: Springfield Police
State: Oregon

Sgt. John Umenhofer spent years bringing all types of misconduct to supervisors’ attention – including an officer having sex in an undercover car in a parking lot where children were present and a SWAT team member bragging that he’d gotten away with murder after he killed an unarmed 15-year-old, he alleged in a lawsuit. Umenhofer claimed the department retaliated by refusing to dispatch SWAT on two occasions when he was confronted by mentally ill suspects with high-powered weapons. Neither the city manager nor the mayor helped him, the suit says.

Umenhofer finally reported his concerns and shared his evidence with the city manager, who handed it over to the very supervisors he’d accused of misconduct, the suit says. After that, Umenhofer said he went to the mayor, who in turn kicked it back down to the city manager.

Umenhofer went on leave due to stress. The chief resigned amid an investigation that he was having an affair with a subordinate on city time – something Umenhofer had earlier reported, the suit alleges. Umenhofer tried to return to work after a new chief was hired, but the new chief urged him to retire instead. Umenhofer declined and requested a transfer to the district attorney’s office, the DEA task force, or the jail. Instead, he was offered jobs as a janitor or a librarian, the suit says. When he declined to take them, he was fired. After he filed suit, his firing was changed to retirement. He also was paid $250,000.

Harassment/bias

Enforcing illegal quotas

Reporting officer(s): Brandon Roberts, Jeffrey Pedrick, Roy Steadman, Brian Shoaf
Year: 2014
Agency: Waldo Police
State: Florida

The police department was disbanded after five officers made a presentation to the City Council accusing the chief of enforcing illegal quotas. The officers’ civil suit against the city was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Quotas

Kicking a man in the head

Reporting officer(s): Andrew Wyandt, Mick Johnson
Year: 2015
Agency: Altoona Police
State: Pennsylvania

Two officers testified that they saw a third officer kick a man in the head. A jury acquitted the third officer of criminal charges.

Source

Other excessive force

Illegally arresting a naked woman

Reporting officer(s): David Selvidge
Year: 2015
Agency: Chandler Police
State: Arizona

Selvidge reported his partner for entering a naked woman’s home illegally and arresting her. The partner retired.

Source

Other

Punching a man in the face

Reporting officer(s): Lee Lopez
Year: 2015
Agency: Espanola Police
State: New Mexico

Lopez told internal affairs he saw a fellow officer grab a man by the hair and swing at his face. The officer was fired.

Source

Beating

Elbowing a handcuffed man in the face

Reporting officer(s): Shannon Bloxham, Sydney Seamon, Forrest Peck
Year: 2015
Agency: Pocatello Police
State: Idaho

Co-workers spoke up after they saw a detective strike a restrained suspect in the face with his elbow. The detective, who resigned, was later acquitted of criminal charges by a jury.

Other excessive force

Shoving a man to the pavement headfirst

Reporting officer(s): Unnamed supervisor
Year: 2015
Agency: Kenosha Police
State: Wisconsin

A supervisor requested an investigation after he saw a video of an officer shoving a man headfirst through a door and onto the pavement. The officer was suspended and later resigned.

Source

Other excessive force

Beating a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Jeffrey Ventura
Year: 2015
Agency: Broward County Sheriff
State: Florida

Broward County deputy Gerald Wengert, who was once a reality TV star with his K9, was accused in 2015 of beating a man who was sitting, handcuffed, on the tailgate of his truck as a group of officers interrogated him. Two of the officers said they had briefly turned away and didn’t see the beginning of the altercation between Wengert and the man. Ventura reported Wengert to the FBI. Wengert was suspended with pay for 15 months while the incident was investigated. Prosecutors decided not to charge him, and he returned to work.

Beating

Killing of Samuel Dubose

Reporting officer(s): David Lindenschmidt, Philip Kidd
Year: 2015
Agency: University of Cincinnati
State: Ohio

Two officers testified against a colleague who reached into a car and fatally shot Samuel Dubose as he drove away. The officer, Ray Tensing, was tried twice, but both cases ended in mistrials and the charges were dismissed. In a settlement, the university paid Tensing more than $300,000 and he resigned.

Source

Shooting

Beating

Reporting officer(s): James Amidei, Adam Crawford, Trevor Fitzgerald, Cody Hoppel
Year: 2014
Agency: Marion County Sheriff
State: Florida

Deputies involved in a beating pleaded guilty and testified against another, who was acquitted in state and federal court.

Beating

Cronyism

Reporting officer(s): Santa Fe officers’ union members
Year: 2015
Agency: Santa Fe Police
State: New Mexico

The Santa Fe police officers’ union sent an 11-page memo alleging cronyism and misconduct by the chief to the city manager. The chief retired after only 13 months on the job.

Source

Other

Moving a mobile meth lab

Reporting officer(s): James Barrow, Leo “Danny” Cook
Year: 2012
Agency: Hillview Police
State: Kentucky

Two officers testified that their chief told them to move a mobile meth lab out of the mayor’s yard. The chief was later convicted of lying to the FBI. The officers’ whistleblower suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Dishonesty

Abuse of people in jail

Reporting officer(s): Several deputies
Year: 2011
Agency: Los Angeles County Sheriff
State: California

Several sheriff’s deputies entered plea agreements with prosecutors and testified against Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who was accused of covering up abuse at the county’s jails. His first trial ended in a hung jury; he was convicted during a second.

Source

Dishonesty

Missing court

Reporting officer(s): Fellow officer
Year: 2015
Agency: New Mexico State Police
State: New Mexico

An officer missed court, resulting in the dismissal of drunken driving charges against a woman. A colleague later saw photos on Facebook indicating the officer was in a relationship with the woman and reported him to internal affairs. The officer was fired and his law enforcement certification was revoked.

Dishonesty

Choking and punching a handcuffed man

Reporting officer(s): Ryan Kaber, Ruben Jenkins, Jason Weber
Year: 2015
Agency: Klamath County Sheriff
State: Oregon

Three officers testified against their chief, who was accused of choking and punching a handcuffed suspect. Two of the officers and several others asked to be temporarily suspended because they feared retaliation.

Beating

Roadside strip search

Reporting officer(s): Chris Trame
Year: 2012
Agency: Illinois State Police
State: Illinois

Trame did a routine review of dashcam footage and discovered a fellow trooper conducting a roadside strip search. Trame reported the co-worker, who was later convicted of misdemeanor assault.

Other

Robbing drug dealers

Reporting officer(s): Jimmy Rodgers
Year: 2013
Agency: Cook County Sheriff/Lyons Police
State: Illinois

Rodgers, a Lyons officer who served on a drug task force that was allegedly robbing dealers, cooperated with the FBI to bring charges against two Illinois state troopers who were on the task force with him. One of the state officers pleaded guilty to robbery. The other killed himself.

Source

Other

Excessive force on camera

Reporting officer(s): Fellow officers
Year: 2015
Agency: Simpsonville Police
State: South Carolina

An officer was fired for using excessive force after body camera footage backed up complaints by his fellow officers.

Source

Beating

Choking a restrained inmate

Reporting officer(s): Fellow officers
Year: 2014
Agency: Baltimore Police
State: Maryland

Co-workers reported an officer for choking a restrained inmate. He was acquitted of assault charges.

Other excessive force

Drug dealing conspiracy

Reporting officer(s): Arthur “Curly” Leavells
Year: 2014
Agency: Detroit Police
State: Michigan

Under an agreement that required him to plead guilty to being part of a drug dealing conspiracy, Detroit Officer Arthur “Curly” Leavells testifed that he and two fellow officers robbed drug dealers and wrote phony reports. Both were convicted and sentenced to prison.

Source

Other

Financial irregularities

Reporting officer(s): Jeff Butler
Year: 2017
Agency: Cincinnati Police
State: Ohio

Butler raised questions about how the city spent 911 fees and grant money and questioned the disappearance of overtime audit records. As a result of his lawsuit, the department changed its policy, and he was paid $70,000, attorney’s fees and costs.

Financial

Siccing a dog on someone who had surrendered

Reporting officer(s): Jeffrey Kogan
Year: 2013
Agency: Broward County Sheriff
State: Florida

Kogan told his supervisor and a prosecutor that a K-9 officer from another department unleashed his dog on a suspect who had already surrendered. Kogan’s retaliation suit was settled for $390,000. The other officer kept his job.

Other excessive force

Punching a man in the face

Reporting officer(s): Aaron McCracken
Year: 2016
Agency: Ashtabula County Sheriff
State: Ohio

McCracken, a patrolman for the Jefferson Village Police Department, testified against a sheriff’s sergeant who had responded to his call for backup. Footage from McCracken’s body camera showed the sergeant, who was convicted of misdemeanor assault, punching a man in the face after he was already under control.

Other excessive force

Shooting an unarmed man

Reporting officer(s): Kevin Leary
Year: 2014
Agency: Baltimore Police
State: Maryland

Two Baltimore police officers testified that a third didn’t need to shoot an unarmed man because they had already shot him and he was no longer a threat.

Shooting

Hitting a man with a shotgun

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2015
Agency: Owasso Police
State: Oklahoma

An officer from a different department intervened to stop an officer who was hitting a man with the butt of a shotgun. The officer accused of misconduct was acquitted of criminal charges.

Source

Other excessive force

Sandwich made of feces

Reporting officer(s): Unknown
Year: 2016
Agency: San Antonio Police
State: Texas

After Officer Matthew Lockhurst allegedly put a sandwich made of feces into a takeout container and placed it near a homeless man, another officer told him to throw it away and reported him to supervisors. Lockhurst was fired.

Other

Writing a false report

Reporting officer(s): Jaeho Jung
Year: 2015
Agency: Chicago Police
State: Illinois

Jung claimed he was retaliated against after he reported one officer for writing false reports and another for failing to fire her weapon when she should have to protect fellow officers. His federal lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Dishonesty

Breath smelling of alcohol

Reporting officer(s): Unnamed sergeant
Year: 2016
Agency: Grovetown Public Safety
State: Georgia

A sergeant reported an officer whose breath smelled of alcohol while on duty. The officer was fired.

Other

Injuring a date

Reporting officer(s): Fellow officers
Year: 2016
Agency: Santa Clara Police
State: California

Officers who responded to a domestic violence call arrested an off-duty officer after they saw injuries on his date.

Beating

Sexism in the department

Reporting officer(s): Tommi Ashmore
Year: 2010
Agency: Cleveland Police
State: Texas

Ashmore claimed she suffered retailation after she posted accusations online about sexism in the department. Her civil suit was settled for $19,000.

Harassment/bias

No confidence in the chief

Reporting officer(s): Scott Davis
Year: 2011
Agency: Beaumont Police
State: California

Two officers spoke up at a union meeting, and their comments were included in a letter to the city manager that the chief should be evaluated.

Source

Other

Lewd comments about Whitney Houston's body

Reporting officer(s): Brian Weir
Year: 2012
Agency: Beverly Hills Police
State: California

Weir, who reported a sergeant who made lewd comments about the corpse of singer Whitney Houston, was removed from the K-9 unit and the SWAT team. He later resigned. The sergeant was promoted. Weir’s civil suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Other

Making racist comments

Reporting officer(s): Maurita Holmes
Year: 2015
Agency: Milwaukee Police
State: Wisconsin

Holmes, a crime analyst, was fired after she reported a captain for making racist comments during a training session. Her civil suit was settled for $50,000.

Source

Harassment/bias

Unlawful quota system

Reporting officer(s): David Heintz
Year: 2015
Agency: Gretna Police
State: Louisiana

Heintz, a sergeant, reported to outside agencies the existence of an “unlawful quota system, police brutality and internal impropriety.” He also refused to make the officers he supervised meet quotas. Heintz was demoted, then transferred to guard duty at the courthouse and subjected to a criminal investigation. He resigned soon after the assistant chief warned he would be fired for “any infraction,” his civil suit says. It was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Source

Quotas

Investigating the chief's friends

Reporting officer(s): Matt Hooper
Year: 2012
Agency: Ladonia Police
State: Texas

Hooper claimed he was fired in retaliation for investigating one of the chief’s friends. The chief also had him arrested for impersonating an officer even though the City Council hadn’t approved the firing and rehired him less han 24 hours later, according to Hooper’s lawsuit, which was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Other

Illegal raises

Reporting officer(s): Doug Taylor
Year: 2013
Agency: Lawrenceburg Police
State: Indiana

Taylor said he was fired after he wrote a letter to the City Council saying he thought the mayor, the police chief and others broke the law by giving people illegal raises. Taylor’s lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

Source

Financial

Drinking on duty

Reporting officer(s): Mark Andrews
Year: 2021
Agency: Michigan State Police
State: Michigan

Andrews said he was reassigned to desk duty after reporting his supervisors for drinking while on duty. His lawsuit remained pending as of February 2022.

Source

Other

Misclassifying homicides

Reporting officer(s): Carlos Bundy
Year: 2019
Agency: DC Metro Police
State: District of Columbia

Bundy filed a lawsuit accusing the department of misclassifying homicides as accidents or suicides and not investigating them. His suit was pending as of February 2022.

Source

Dishonesty

Stealing from the evidence room

Reporting officer(s): Kevin Burton, Mike Garyantes, Frank Taylor
Year: 2019
Agency: Kentucky State Police
State: Kentucky

Three troopers reported a co-worker for stealing property from the evidence rooom. One was transferred, one was suspended and the third resigned under threat of transfer. A jury found in their favor and awarded them $900,000.

Source

Financial

Arrest quotas

Reporting officer(s): Brandon Ellis, Jeremy Artis, Vasshawn Robinson
Year: 2017
Agency: Hobbs Police Department
State: New Mexico

Three officers, two Black and one white, said they complained about an arrest quota within the department and were harassed, ridiculed and received poor work evalations as a result. The officers, who settled a lawsuit with the department in 2021 for $1.4 million, said their bosses undermined their efforts to get new jobs when they tried to leave and in one instance ordered fellow officers not to provide backup.

Quotas

Money for votes

Reporting officer(s): Allen Ordeneaux
Year: 2018
Agency: Amite Police Department
State: Louisiana

Ordeneaux said he assisted FBI officials in multiple corruption investigations of the police department and testified on behalf of another officer. He was then fired for mislabeling two evidence bags. He says it was retaliation. The city told state unemployment officials that he didn’t deserve benefits, but the employment commission found Ordeneaux did not commit misconduct and should receive them. The former chief of police was later indicted for paying people to vote for him.

Financial

Sexual assault

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2019
Agency: Cicero Police Department
State: Illinois

In a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a police officer reported a co-worker’s sexual assault. In return, she said, she was harassed, excluded, put on prolonged probation, denied secondary employment, denied training and falsely accused of misconduct. The EEOC did not substantiate the allegations or fault the department.

Sexual assault

Labor complaint

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2017
Agency: San Antonio Police Department
State: Texas

In a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a supervisor said she particpated as a witness in a labor case filed by another employee. The supervisor said she was then transferred to a different shift in retaliation. The EEOC complaint was ultimately withdrawn.

Other

Sleeping on the job

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2018
Agency: Baker Police Department
State: Louisiana

In a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a communications officer complained about harassment, bullying and a co-worker sleeping on the job. She said she was fired in retaliation. The EEOC did not substantiate the allegations or fault the department.

Other

Using seized money for drug buys

Reporting officer(s): Garrett DeWyse
Year: 2015
Agency: Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department
State: Michigan

DeWyse claims he was removed from his job as evidence room manager and reassigned to pick up roadkill after he complained that the sheriff was directing deputies to use confiscated money for undercover drug buys instead of turning it over to the county as required by law.

Financial

Grievance

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2019
Agency: Hammond Police Department
State: Louisiana

In a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a sergeant said she was a witness to another female officer’s grievance and was later denied a transfer. The EEOC did not substantiate the allegations or fault the department.

Other

Entering a female dorm

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2016
Agency: Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office
State: Louisiana

In a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a deputy reported a male coworker for entering the female dorm in the jail. Afterward, the deputy said, she was put in a section with high-level offenders and was attacked. The EEOC did not substantiate the allegations or fault the department.

Other

Sexual harassment of a female detective

Reporting officer(s): Avery Thompson
Year: 2019
Agency: Fairbanks Police Department
State: Alaska

Thompson, a veteran detective, said he was demoted, harassed and intimidated after he spoke out against the alleged sexual harassment of his girlfriend, also a detective in the department.

Source

Harassment/bias

Bullying by the police commission

Reporting officer(s): Anne Kirkpatrick
Year: 2020
Agency: Oakland Police Department
State: California

After three years as chief of police, Kirkpatrick said the police commission voted to fire her because she complained that its members were pressuring officers to give them special treatment and bullying department employees.

Source

Other

Internal investigation

Reporting officer(s): Keandra Simmons
Year: 2021
Agency: Miami Police Department
State: Florida

Simmons sued the department after she was demoted from major to lieutenant and had her pay cut by $60,000 after speaking out against two other supervisors in an internal investigation. She was restored to major months later after a new chief took over.

Driving

Corruption

Reporting officer(s): David Salcedo
Year: 2017
Agency: Baldwin Park Police Department
State: California

Salcedo, who was chief for only 49 days, said city officials retaliated against him and officers banded together to be insubordinate after he began investigating corruption within the department. He sued and received a $4.9 million settlement in 2021.

Other

Domestic battery

Reporting officer(s): Rochelet Commond
Year: 2021
Agency: Riviera Beach Police Department
State: Florida

Commond, a 15-year veteran of the department, says he was fired for insubordination after he refused to change parts of an affidavit for a city council member he arrested on domestic battery chanrges.

Source

Other

Failing to meet the terms of a settlement agreement

Reporting officer(s): John Sullivan
Year: 2018
Agency: Albuquerque Police Department
State: New Mexico

Sullivan said his bosses demoted him as retaliation for informing the Department of Justice that he was not given adequate resources to make changes at the police academy as required by a settlement agreement. Sullivan sued the department and settled in 2021 for $550,000.

Financial

Substandard supervisors

Reporting officer(s): Ron Ryan
Year: 2015
Agency: Boynton Beach Police Department
State: Florida

Ryan claimed he was fired in retaliation for emails and social media posts in which he complained about his bosses. His civil suit was settled for $200,000.

Source

Other

Sexual harassment of a female detective

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2018
Agency: Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office
State: Louisiana

In a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an administrative official said she was disciplined because she tried to investigate others’ claims of sexual harassment. She asked the EEOC for a notice of right to sue, which the agency issued.

Harassment/bias

Assault by a supervisor

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2019
Agency: Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office
State: Louisiana

In a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a captain said advised an employee how to report a supervisor who had assaulted him. During the internal investigation, the younger employee claimed the captain forced him to report the supervisor, according to the captain. The captain was then fired. The EEOC did not substantiate the allegations or fault the department.

Beating

Misconduct by a captain

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2019
Agency: Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office
State: Louisiana

In a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a deputy said she was written up and eventually laid off in retaliation for reporting her captain for misconduct. It’s unclear from records what the alleged misconduct was. The EEOC did not substantiate the allegations or fault the department.

Other

Bribery

Reporting officer(s): Bruce Cutlip
Year: 2019
Agency: Cleveland Police Department
State: Ohio

In a lawsuit, Cutlip said the police chief retaliated against him by assigning him to an overnight shift for investigating a bribery case. He said the new patrol was in one of the most violent sections of the city.

Source

Financial

Bribery by a bar owner

Reporting officer(s): Timothy Maffo-Judd
Year: 2019
Agency: Cleveland Police Department
State: Ohio

In a lawsuit, Maffo-Judd said he was removed as head of the bomb squad for reporting a bar owner offering a bribe. The suit remained pending as of March 2022.

Source

Financial

Beating on video

Reporting officer(s): R.J. Ploof
Year: 2021
Agency: Seat Pleasant Police Department
State: Maryland

Under the direction of the police chief and City Council, county detectives opened an investigation into Ploof, he told Paste BN, after he responded to public records requests and released several bodycam videos showing an array of misconduct, including officers tasing and tackling an unarmed suspect. Ploof was suspended along with two officers depicted in the videos, pending investigations.

Beating

False arrest and strangling

Reporting officer(s): Felicia Carson
Year: 2019
Agency: Metropolitan Police Department
State: District of Columbia

A 29-year veteran and internal affairs investigator, Carson said she was terminated after she refused to absolve an officer of wrongdoing after she concluded the officer had choked a Black teenager and falsely arrested him.

Source

Beating

Racist jokes

Reporting officer(s): Lisa Burton
Year: 2019
Agency: Metropolitan Police Department
State: District of Columbia

Burton, a civilian police employee, said co-workers left a racially charged t-shirt on her desk months after she reported one of them for making a racist joke. She and an internal affairs officer sued the department in 2021, saying they were forced out for doing their jobs. The suit remained pending as of March 2022.

Source

Harassment/bias

Sex with an underage girl

Reporting officer(s): Chris Iorio
Year: 2012
Agency: Serasota County Sheriff
State: Florida

Iorio filed a report with the state police about a captain who was believed to have had sex with an underage girl in the 1980s. The investigation didn’t end in charges. Iorio said he was threatened by at least one other officer in the department and the sheriff called him a coward. Iorio was then suspended for a separate infraction, which he considered retaliation. He said the department announced his suspension and he was forced to resign from the board of a child abuse prevention nonprofit. Iorio eventually quit his job at the department. He filed a lawsuit but a judge dismissed it.

Sexual assault

Illegal campagn contributions

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2015
Agency: Louisiana State Police
State: Louisiana

In a lawsuit, Derbonne said she was retaliated against by others on the Louisiana State Police Commission, a police oversight board, for challenging police leaders and calling attention to a string of illegal campaign contributions. She said she had no choice but to resign at the height of the scandal last year after commissioners threatened to humiliate her at a public meeting. Derbonne settled the case for $130,000, and the commission did not admit any liability.

Financial

False claims in police reports

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2019
Agency: Dayton Police Department
State: Ohio

A Black officer claimed two white officers made false statements in police reports. Afterward, his shift was changed and he was not allowed to use accrued sick leave time, he said. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission investigated and dismissed the case.

Source

Dishonesty

Discrepancies in paper work

Reporting officer(s): Undisclosed
Year: 2017
Agency: Harris County Sheriff
State: Texas

A deputy complained to internal affairs that she was placed on desk duty for refusing to sign an affidavit in which she noticed discrepancies, refusing to falsify an overtime sheet, and reporting the issues to her lieutenant. The department ruled the complaint “not sustained.” The deputy’s name was redacted from the complaint.

Source

Dishonesty

Explore the claims

Punching a man in a wheelchair

Planting drugs

Death of Ronald Greene

Culture of misconduct

Beating a man in custody

Sexual harassment

Sexua messages and images

Abuse of prisoners

Assaulting a drunken driver

Illegal searches and seizures

Shaking down drug dealers

Death in custody

Beating a handcuffed man

Bending badges to indicate fatal shootings

SWAT mafia

Fatal crash

Beating a handcuffed man

Bragging about getting away with murder

Illegal strip search

Robbing drug dealers

Unprofessional behavior

Poor working conditions

Sexual misconduct

Case fixing and threats

Bribery

Drug use

Retaliation for an arrest

Shoving a handcuffed man

Racism, bullying and sexism

Drunken driving

Crash investigation

Towing cars

Slamming an elderly man to the ground

Assaulting a handcuffed man

Retiree misconduct

Obstructing an investigation

Unsolved hit and run

Reporting sexual harassment

Race discrimination

Beating a man

Falsifying records

Double Dipping

Wrongful promotion

Not charging for jail space

Discrimination

Quota system

Retaliation claim

Under-reporting violent crime

Driving through toll booths

Vote of no confidence

Discrimination, bias and nepotism

Kicking and punching a handcuffed man

Assault by a lieutenant

Illegal quotas

Acting confrontationally with a citizen

Illegally entering an apartment

Fraudulent business practices

Embezzling public funds

Criminal conduct

Making offensive comments

Sexual misconduct

Unsafe conditions

Abusing a mentally ill person

Wrongdoing by a trooper and a captain

Abusing overtime

Racist statements at roll call

Firebombing