Lan8r
Jedi Master
http://www.lakewalesnews.com/articles/2008/08/16/news/01%20keenan%20colson%20.txt
It amazes me that they will 'bring to justice' a police officer accused of being involved with a "'violent' marijuana distribution ring", while they exonerate those that kill innocent people by multiple tazerings and even fatal shootings. They are so "absolutely proud" that they hold their police department accountable.
(I love these smilies, but where is the puking one?!)
Chief not swayed by recent events Tells his staff to “hold your heads high”
They are calling it an “unforgivable” sin.
Lake Wales police officer Keenan Colson, 50, was arrested Wednesday by the Polk County Sheriff’s Department on multiple charges stemming from information he leaked to 25-year-old Clayton Hoerler, a known criminal offender, including blowing the cover of an undercover cop, said LWPD Chief Herbert Gillis.
“If your officers do commit criminal acts, they need to be arrested just like anyone else,” the chief said, “a lot of times things may be handled where people may be just terminated or let go. That’s not the way you are supposed to do things, that’s why I told the officers around here hold your heads up. We’ve been through a lot, we’ve been in the paper a lot with our officers who have done stuff wrong.”
“We are going to hold offenders accountable, because we hold our people accountable. To me that is a good thing because we hold ourselves accountable first, we hold offenders accountable second. And that’s a position you want to be in law enforcement, that’s accountability, that’s integrity,” he added.
Colson faces one count of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering action, five counts unlawful use of two-way communications device, and four counts unlawful use of computer access after he was tied to an investigation that ultimately netted 18 people arrested in conjunction with what was described by county law enforcers as a “violent” marijuana distribution ring.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd agreed with Gillis, noting in a phone interview Thursday that the blame rests solely on Colson and his actions.
“It’s important to point out we don't in any way suspect anyone other than Keenan Colson. We don't want to leave any impression of that being anything other than an ethical police department. They run a great shop there. The men and women there are very dedicated. This is just one crooked cop," he said.
But it was one cop nobody seems to have expected to compromise the integrity and safety of his fellow police officers.
Colson’s actions sent shock waves throughout the LWPD.
Captain Patrick Quinn said he was “hurt and shocked” because he regarded Colson as “the rock,” a man who “was always there, went to his calls, took his reports, was dependable.”
Quinn, who was not involved in the investigation, was briefed about the situation on Tuesday.
“Several people fall from grace,” he said. “That stinks, that hurts. We hire people, unfortunately people are going to do stupid things sometimes.”
Quinn said Colson made a bad choice and was going to have to answer for his bad choice, but added that everyone in the department was upset.
“We have lost a member of our family for his bad choice,” he said.
What frustrated the chief so much is the concept that the lives of other officers were put in danger. Undercover work presents challenges of it own, he noted, calling it “one of the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement” because of its vulnerability.
“And for Keenan Colson to identify to criminal offenders, this undercover officer, this undercover deputy, could have caused him to be killed, and could have caused the deputies that were working with him, the undercover officers to be injured,” he said. “That is something that will never be forgiven.”
Gillis said Colson’s arrest was about justice for the police officers that are doing a good job every day. And it is those who trusted Colson that wonder what went awry with him.
Having had no prior indications to believe that Colson was capable of betraying his fellow officers, the chief described Colson as a “very likable guy, very respectful, very quiet, very courteous.”
How he got hooked up with a known criminal offender still stumps investigators, Gillis said.
Judd said he isn't sure of the connection either, but said investigators did believe there was a prior relationship. In the late 1990s, Colson was an officer in Lake Hamilton, and Clayton Hoerler, identified as being one of the alleged ring leaders, apparently lived in Lake Hamilton at that time as well. Hoerler, 25, was identified this week by the county sheriff’s office as being a Lake Alfred resident.
"We know from the investigation that they were good friends," Judd said. "We know they discussed criminal activity freely, and that Colson give him intricate instructions in how to avoid arrest and how to protect himself from covert investigation. He was certainly the consultant for Hoerler."
Events like these cause law enforcement officials to reevaluate hiring practices, Gillis said, each time another one occurs.
With this now being the third time in a year and a half that one of his own was arrested for breaking the law, Gillis said the question will be revisited.
“Do we need to change our process?” Gillis questioned. “That is something that Chris and I have talked about many times, is our process OK?”
Assistant Chief of Police Christopher Velasquez has many talks with Gillis on the matter.
They both wonder if the questions asked on the preliminary polygraph are challenging enough. To be employed at the LWPD, an individual has to pass a background investigation, a polygraph test, a psychological examination, a drug screen, and a test of physical abilities.
There is one catch, though, according to Gillis.
“You are dealing with the most unpredictable resource in any organization,” he said, “and that’s the human factor...people make poor decisions.”
It was a statement that coincided with Quinn’s opinion in a phone interview Wednesday, when he said, “you are supposed to be more responsible than the average Joe.”
It is that commitment to responsibility that gives Chief Gillis hope for the future of his LWPD.
“I have said from day one that doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do,” he said, “because the easy thing to do would have been to bring him in here and fire him, and just let him go. Nah. He needs to be in jail.”
“We’re policing those who police our community, and that if anything should be a source of pride for them,” he added.
The issue of corruption in the police department is one Velasquez says officers are going to have to face again.
His response to the community is that if the police department was “corrupt,” then the LWPD would have tried “to help prevent him getting arrested.”
“When we found out that he was kind of ‘on the radar’ I mean, we’re going to do the right thing, and it is a big disappointment.” he said, “It’s an embarrassment, but it’s also something that we’re going to have to turn around and use as a motivator and keep pressing on and challenging the officers, that’s all.”
In retrospect, Chief Gillis said he is “absolutely proud” that the police department is holding their officers accountable, first.
Knitting his eyebrows together and cocking his head, the chief added, “I don’t want to hear anybody in this community complain when they get arrested. We clean our house, we’ll clean yours too.”
It amazes me that they will 'bring to justice' a police officer accused of being involved with a "'violent' marijuana distribution ring", while they exonerate those that kill innocent people by multiple tazerings and even fatal shootings. They are so "absolutely proud" that they hold their police department accountable.
(I love these smilies, but where is the puking one?!)
