Pasco deputies

September 24, 2008
Pasco deputies, suspected of drinking and driving, let go in Pinellas

Pinellas County Sheriff's Sgt. John Daniels saw a car fly past him and caught a readout on his digital radar: 98 mph.

The silver Dodge Charger was westbound on Keystone Road in Tarpon Springs about 1 a.m. Sunday. The posted speed in the area was 45 mph.

According to Daniels' report, he made a U-turn to follow the Charger and saw it weaving around other cars in a no-passing zone. At County Road 611, the Charger stopped -- 20 yards short of the intersection.

When Daniels pulled up, he saw the passenger standing outside his door, urinating. The man looked up at him, he wrote, and then continued. Daniels got out of his cruiser and walked up to the driver's side.

That's when both men identified themselves by their profession: Pasco County Sheriff's deputies.

Jose Berrios, the driver, told Daniels that he and fellow deputy Kurt Hentschel had been out drinking and were on their way home. Berrios, Daniels wrote, smelled like he'd been drinking and had glassy eyes.

According to the report, Daniels told Berrios he "would like" to give him a breath test to check his blood-alcohol level "due to the fact he appeared to be under the influence."

Daniels told Berrios if he failed the test he would "simply have to call someone" to pick him up; if he passed, he could drive home, the report says.

Berrios said he "preferred" to call for a ride. Daniels did not insist on the breath test, so none was taken. While they waited for the ride, Daniels contacted a Pasco sheriff's lieutenant, who asked him to write a report documenting the incident and fax it.

Their ride -- whose identity isn't known -- showed up and the deputies left.

They are both now under investigation by their own agency, Pasco spokesman Kevin Doll said Wednesday. Berrios has been placed on desk duty; Hentschel is on normal duty.

In Pinellas, Daniels concluded his report with, "case closed, solved non-criminal."

Molly Moorhead, Times staff writer

Sheriff, do the right thing and fire Barrios. He is still on probation and is a disgrace to the uniform. His partner, Henschel, should also be investigated for allowing Barrios to drive, sounds like conduct unbecoming to me.

Oh great. First we had male detention deputies havin sex with female prisoners. Then we have deputies dealing drugs. Now we got deputies driving drunk.

Looks like this Sheriff has no control over his deputies.

if Deputy Berrios is still on probation, then he is S.O.L...good luck with new your new job....as for the other deputy....i recommend suspension...give him 80 hours off. Please don't urinate in the street again.

Fire both of them!!!
Makes all of us look bad.

WTF?? First off, I am VERY much against drunk drivers!! I am ashamed in what I am reading on here about him/them needing to get fired!! I am sure this is not being written by patrol deputies, as we are all family.. Ever heard of The Thin Blue Line? He was not drunk, however admits he had drank some beer.. His buddy was trashed, but so what? How may times have we pulled someone over who had been drinking and we have them call someone to pick them up and hope they see how close their lives could have changed? We would NEVER call their work and tell them!! How many times have we seen fellow brother/sisters leaving an FOP meeting, sports bar or even a platoon Christmas party after drinking some beer, would we rat them out to their rank (even though rank is sometimes included)? Florida IS THE ONLY STATE cops rat out other cops!!! For some crazy reason, cops in this state have a thing about ratting out fellow brothers/sisters of The Thin Blue Line and it pisses me off!! We are all we have out here and NEED TO KNOW we can trust each other...

[quote]if Deputy Berrios is still on probation, then he is S.O.L...good luck with new your new job....as for the other deputy....i recommend suspension...give him 80 hours off. Please don't urinate in the street again.[quote]

Pinellas gave him a break so maybe it will hire him...

:devil: If no one was breath tested then there is no criminal activity. 95 in 45, passing in no passing, reckless driving? possible. Pissing in the street is not illegal either, disgusting? sure. conduct unbecoming? sure. We have an excellent professional standards unit, they will do thier job efficently. But really what is the real lesson to be learned here??? If you give a cop a break, don't be a retard and let your supervisors know. Keep that Sh1t to yourself and that cop. Everyone be safe and look out for your brothers and sisters, no one else will. And to Burrito and big red... good luck god bless, and we'll see ya soon :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil:

They should've both been charged and arrested! A badge doesn't give you a license to commit crimes and act like a jackass. And yes, I've been in law enforcement for 24 years. We had to arrest one of our own recently for DUI just like any average citizen. No calls for a ride home here.

WTF?? First off, I am VERY much against drunk drivers!! I am ashamed in what I am reading on here about him/them needing to get fired!! I am sure this is not being written by patrol deputies, as we are all family.. Ever heard of The Thin Blue Line? He was not drunk, however admits he had drank some beer.. His buddy was trashed, but so what? How may times have we pulled someone over who had been drinking and we have them call someone to pick them up and hope they see how close their lives could have changed? We would NEVER call their work and tell them!! How many times have we seen fellow brother/sisters leaving an FOP meeting, sports bar or even a platoon Christmas party after drinking some beer, would we rat them out to their rank (even though rank is sometimes included)? Florida IS THE ONLY STATE cops rat out other cops!!! For some crazy reason, cops in this state have a thing about ratting out fellow brothers/sisters of The Thin Blue Line and it pisses me off!! We are all we have out here and NEED TO KNOW we can trust each other...

Bogart would not have given him a break:

Officer demoted over handling of investigation
[CITY Edition]

St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fla.
Author: JEFF SKLANSKY
Date: Feb 18, 1989
Start Page: 1
Section: PASCO TIMES
Text Word Count: 934

Document Text

NEW PORT RICHEY - Top Pasco sheriff's officials on Friday blamed a patrol lieutenant for bungling a drunken-driving investigation of another officer under her supervision. The lieutenant was demoted to sergeant amid complaints from the state attorney's office that the investigation was shoddy and incomplete.

In a highly unusual move prompted by citizens' suggestions that the officer who was investigated was given preferential treatment, officials speaking on behalf of Sheriff Jim Gillum said that the investigation was badly handled but that no favoritism was involved.

The officer, Sgt. William Stoner, was suspended for two days, but prosecutors did not proceed with criminal charges against him after the incident Sept. 20, even though he failed a Breathalyzer test administered an hour and a half after he was driving.

Prosecutors said they could not bring charges against Stoner because the breath test was administered without first placing him under arrest and because sheriff's officials involved in the investigation said he was not intoxicated.

Lt. Cynthia D. Kuhn, a 12-year veteran of the Pasco Sheriff's Office and a former New Port Richey police officer, is expected to appeal her demotion, which took effect Thursday. Kuhn, who was Stoner's immediate supervisor at the time of the incident, disputed virtually all of the charges that her investigation was improper in written responses to the allegations.

Assistant State Attorney Allen Allweiss said Friday he had strongly protested the way the investigation was conducted in conversations with Gillum. ``We were presented with a case that, in my opinion, should have been handled a lot differently,`` Allweiss said. Allweiss called the suggestion that Stoner was not too drunk to drive ``far-fetched`` and said more should have been done to gather evidence against him. ``We had nothing,`` he said.

Responding to several letters to the editor in Friday's Pasco Times, Sheriff's Office General Counsel Lee Cannon said ``no double standard`` had been used to allow Stoner to avoid criminal prosecution.

``The investigation that was done was not sufficient to prosecute Sgt. Stoner,`` Cannon said. ``There was absolutely no improper treatment of the case by the state attorney's office. They in no way are to be held liable for the inadequate investigation that was conducted by our own personnel.``

Kuhn was the officer in charge at the scene of the incident at U.S. 19 and Ranch Road in Port Richey, where Stoner, who was off-duty that afternoon, swerved his vehicle to avoid hitting another car, causing the boat on his trailer to fall off onto the road.

Allweiss said Kuhn and others she supervised failed to perform a test for intoxication when they should have, then failed to arrest Stoner when they administered a breath test. The test showed blood-alcohol levels of 0.106 and 0.101 percent - above the level at which a driver is presumed legally drunk - but the time delay could have altered his alcohol level. Stoner admitted to drinking three 7-ounce beers and four 12-ounce beers earlier that day.

In internal memos, sheriff's officers and investigators also alleged that Kuhn did not complete an accident report as instructed, and that she did not insist to a Florida Highway Patrol trooper that he conduct the investigation instead of the Sheriff's Office to avoid any appearance of favoritism.

``She failed to ensure that the accident and DUI (driving under the influence) were properly investigated and appropriate reports instituted,`` Maj. Kim Bogart wrote, charging that Kuhn used a ``dual-standard rationale`` in not administering a field sobriety test on the scene.

But top sheriff's officials and Allweiss stopped short of saying Kuhn had intentionally sabotaged the investigation. ``We have not determined that (Kuhn) intentionally bungled this investigation in order to help a fellow officer,`` Cannon said.

Kuhn could not be reached Friday for comment. In her written response to the charges, she said Bogart gave her ``cryptic instructions`` on how to handle the investigation and she didn't think Stoner was intoxicated. She also said the Highway Patrol declined to handle the incident.

``I had approximately 15 minutes or so to observe Sgt. Stoner's movements and behavior at the scene,`` Kuhn wrote. ``He was making logical choices, reaching reasonable conclusions and demonstrated no problems with motor function.``

She called any suggestion that she had given Stoner special treatment ``ridiculous,`` saying she has ``always been a strong advocate of showing no partiality in these circumstances`` and is a staunch opponent of drunken driving.

Another sheriff's official on the scene, Sgt. Sandy Reed, said in a memo that she ``advised Lt. Kuhn that it was apparent that he (Stoner) had been drinking by the odor and that other than that I could not say if he was intoxicated.``

Cannon said Kuhn's personnel record also was considered in the decision to demote her to sergeant, entailing a pay cut of about $3,000 a year. Records show she has been disciplined at least five times since she was hired in 1977.

Two of those actions resulted from charges involving possibly protecting a fellow sheriff's official. Last year, Kuhn lost an appeal of a one-day suspension for conduct unbecoming an officer. She was accused of harassing security officials at a department store who had detained another lieutenant for suspected shoplifting.

In 1987, Kuhn failed to pass on to her superiors citizens' complaints against a sheriff's deputy who was under review, according to another internal affairs report.

To make matters worse, Kuhn was later fired by Bogart for lying and was not given the opportunity to take a lie detector test at her request. Why not? Stoner was allowed to do so and keep his job, oh that's right, Bogart handled Kuhns investigation personally, did not let Internal Affairs handle it like he did Stoner's investigation. But then again, if he let the professionals handled it, she would still be working here. You want to be mad at someone, don't be mad at anyone other than the drunk racecar driver and the redhead who was exposing himself "in full view of traffic".

Now let me clarify, I don't think that Sheriff White will allow this behavior to go unchecked either. But Professional standards will do the investigation, not the Sheriff or Major, and the outcome will be just, as in JUST CAUSE. I don't see why we would extend Barrios' probation, this is not his first problem, and the other guy, well, anyone who works the baker sector has heard about his notorious behavior. I can't see less than conduct unbecoming there. But lets just wait and see. No matter what happens though, at least they will be properly investigated.