Audio clip
Freeman Cooper
Off-duty Chattanooga police officers arrested and charged with crimes must take administrative leave while the department’s internal affairs division investigates the incidents.
After the investigation, however, disciplinary action is at the police chief’s discretion, said Sgt. Julie Dean, president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 673.
Discipline can range from suspended days without pay to termination, she said. The police chief and his administrators review the case, consider any past offenses, and determine punishment on a case-by-case basis, she said.
“There is no cut-and-dry maximum or minimum,” Sgt. Dean said.
An internal affairs investigation is under way into the arrest of Chattanooga police officer Mike Early. Officer Early, 38, was arrested shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday after a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper saw a Jeep illegally parked on the shoulder of northbound Interstate 75 near the Bonny Oaks exit, THP spokesman Mike Browning told the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Saturday.
The trooper noticed Officer Early had trouble getting into his vehicle and slurred his speech, records show. Officer Early failed one field sobriety test before refusing two other standard field tests, Mr. Browning said.
Officer Early was released on his own recognizance from the Hamilton County Jail after being charged with DUI, possession of a handgun while under the influence and violation of the implied consent law, officials said.
He was placed on administrative leave, police spokeswoman Lt. Kim Noorbergen said.
Members of the City Council’s Legal and Legislative Committee raised questions about the police department’s stance on officers’ off-duty contact Tuesday afternoon. Chief Freeman Cooper told the committee he wants off-duty officers to enjoy their time with families and friends.
“But they are accountable for their time all the time when they’re doing something improper,” he said.
Committee chairman Jack Benson said he wants to make sure the public and the City Council can trust the police department to hold its officers to high standards.
“It meant a lot to me that the police chief made a strong statement that he did expect off-duty officers to be accountable for their actions,” he said.
Assistant Chief Stan Maffet said every officer receives a departmental policy manual outlining procedures for personnel involved in off-duty crimes.
Sgt. Dean said she did not know whether officers are reminded of the standards to which they are held.
“I don’t know if it’s really come out and said, but you pretty much are told or it’s pretty much inferred that your actions. ... You’re held to a higher standard than the people that you police,” she said.
After a leave of absence due to illness, injury or administrative leave, officers must complete a fit-for-duty evaluation, she said. That evaluation may involve a release from a physician or psychiatrist.
