NewsHound
10-02-2008, 07:20 PM
Former Investigator Ryan Pender says the Tallahassee Police Department wrongly fired him, and he denies that confidential informant Rachel Hoffman was ever out of his control.
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In a 26-page rebuttal of findings that Pender violated nine department policies, his lawyer defends the former investigator's handling of Hoffman and the May 7 drug-sting operation that led to the 23-year-old's death.
"Under the circumstances, Investigator Pender does not believe his conduct, nor the conduct of others under investigation, was careless, unreasonable, or negligent," states the letter by attorney Paul Villeneuve, which the Tallahassee Democrat obtained Wednesday.
"The letter speaks for itself," said Villeneuve, who has advised Pender to refrain from speaking publicly about the case.
Pender, who was fired last week but wants his job back, filed his official grievance with the city Tuesday. Chief Dennis Jones will first reconsider the internal-affairs investigation findings. If he still agrees with the assessment, the city manager will review them. An arbiter likely will make a final decision.
"The department respects the grievance process," TPD spokesman David McCranie said. "We hope for a resolution to this matter soon."
In the letter, which the city received Sept. 19, Pender contends he could not have anticipated that Hoffman would disobey his orders that evening and follow two suspected drug dealers to an unauthorized location. She was to buy drugs and a gun from Andrea Green and Deneilo Bradshaw, who now are charged in her murder.
While Hoffman had made some questionable choices as an informant, such as telling a potential target that she was working for police, Pender considered her forthcoming, honest and competent.
"Hoffman's prior conduct as a confidential informant would have left a reasonable investigator to believe that her decision-making qualities were sound and predictable," the letter states.
Pender rejected the department's conclusion that he ceded control of Hoffman by letting her decide to drive to the May 7 bust by herself.
According to the letter: "Pender never allowed informant Rachel Hoffman to control any of the situations in which she operated. Confidential informants drive their own vehicles, alone, during Vice operations on a regular basis. This is such a common practice, that it's difficult to identify any logical basis for sustaining this violation."
Despite assertions by internal-affairs investigators, Pender said he did not allow Green and Bradshaw to dictate where the deal was to go down.
"Rather, the suspects in this case suggested the location," the letter states, "and it was only after thorough consideration that Investigator Pender agreed the location (at Forestmeadows Park) was suitable."
Losing Hoffman wasn't Pender's fault, the letter contends. When he stopped traffic to let her back onto Meridian Road after she made a wrong turn, he said, she assured him she was going to Forestmeadows. He didn't think he needed to follow her the last 0.3 mile. She'd be out of sight for only a moment.
"Immediately upon entering the Forestmeadows Complex Hoffman would have been under the observation of numerous officers," the letter states. "During this brief interlude, control was not lost."
Source and Reader Comments (http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081002/NEWS01/810020312&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL)
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In a 26-page rebuttal of findings that Pender violated nine department policies, his lawyer defends the former investigator's handling of Hoffman and the May 7 drug-sting operation that led to the 23-year-old's death.
"Under the circumstances, Investigator Pender does not believe his conduct, nor the conduct of others under investigation, was careless, unreasonable, or negligent," states the letter by attorney Paul Villeneuve, which the Tallahassee Democrat obtained Wednesday.
"The letter speaks for itself," said Villeneuve, who has advised Pender to refrain from speaking publicly about the case.
Pender, who was fired last week but wants his job back, filed his official grievance with the city Tuesday. Chief Dennis Jones will first reconsider the internal-affairs investigation findings. If he still agrees with the assessment, the city manager will review them. An arbiter likely will make a final decision.
"The department respects the grievance process," TPD spokesman David McCranie said. "We hope for a resolution to this matter soon."
In the letter, which the city received Sept. 19, Pender contends he could not have anticipated that Hoffman would disobey his orders that evening and follow two suspected drug dealers to an unauthorized location. She was to buy drugs and a gun from Andrea Green and Deneilo Bradshaw, who now are charged in her murder.
While Hoffman had made some questionable choices as an informant, such as telling a potential target that she was working for police, Pender considered her forthcoming, honest and competent.
"Hoffman's prior conduct as a confidential informant would have left a reasonable investigator to believe that her decision-making qualities were sound and predictable," the letter states.
Pender rejected the department's conclusion that he ceded control of Hoffman by letting her decide to drive to the May 7 bust by herself.
According to the letter: "Pender never allowed informant Rachel Hoffman to control any of the situations in which she operated. Confidential informants drive their own vehicles, alone, during Vice operations on a regular basis. This is such a common practice, that it's difficult to identify any logical basis for sustaining this violation."
Despite assertions by internal-affairs investigators, Pender said he did not allow Green and Bradshaw to dictate where the deal was to go down.
"Rather, the suspects in this case suggested the location," the letter states, "and it was only after thorough consideration that Investigator Pender agreed the location (at Forestmeadows Park) was suitable."
Losing Hoffman wasn't Pender's fault, the letter contends. When he stopped traffic to let her back onto Meridian Road after she made a wrong turn, he said, she assured him she was going to Forestmeadows. He didn't think he needed to follow her the last 0.3 mile. She'd be out of sight for only a moment.
"Immediately upon entering the Forestmeadows Complex Hoffman would have been under the observation of numerous officers," the letter states. "During this brief interlude, control was not lost."
Source and Reader Comments (http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081002/NEWS01/810020312&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL)