Deputy Suspended for Dusting

Ya know, our administration does a lot of good for us. They really do. But every now and then they make a decision that makes it so blatantly obvious that they have NO CLUE what we do, or what we face, in the field. Maybe it's because it's been a couple of decades since any of them actually did real law enforcement. Whatever the reason, it just leaves one shaking one's head in disbelief. Let me tell you what I'm talking about.

A deputy in SE just got an 8-hour suspension for dusting for latent prints in a residence that had been broken into. Sound unbelieveable? Well believe it! The ironic thing is, this same deputy was awarded a $100 savings bond for getting the most latent prints in SE District just last year. This year, they suspend her for doing the same thing...her job.
How many of you know of deputies who go months without taking their print kits out of their trunks? I know of plenty. They are too lazy to try for prints, or they don't want to get dirty. She goes the extra mile to try to identify a suspect, and they punish her for it.

Here's the deal. She made the mistake of trying to lift prints in the home of a wealthy woman, who lives in a high-dollar neighborhood. This woman came home after the burglary, and found latent print dust all over her house. So she called the Sheriff's Office and raised hell about the mess the deputy made. The deputy didn't purposely make a mess. She was trying to find prints. She WANTED to catch a bad guy. But because we kiss any and all butts that present themselves, her hard work isn't the important point here. She messed up this rich woman's house. How dare she! Being the "customer oriented" agency we are, we paid a professional cleaning crew $1,300.00 to clean this woman's house. $1,300.00!!!!! I'd have done it for less than half! I gotta wonder what moron agreed to pay that much money to have a house cleaned.

Well, since we ate the cleaning bill, somebody has to pay, right? She's getting suspended because she didn't wear booties in the house...how many of you do that?...and because she didn't call a supervisor when she realized she'd gotten dusting powder on the woman's carpet. Again, how many of you EVER call a supervisor to notify them that you got dusting powder on ANYTHING??? I make messes when I dust all the time! Who doesn't. It's the very nature of latent print dust. IT MAKES A MESS!!! But see, most of our victims aren't rich. They don't complain. They just accept it's part of doing a crime scene investigation. Rich people know we'll jump whenever they tell us to. Do you think we'd have paid $1,300.00 to have a house in Wahneta cleaned? Come on!!

This deputy did NOTHING wrong as far as I'm concerned, and I'm outraged that her hard work would be regarded in this manner. She's a good deputy. She works hard, she isn't afraid to take calls, and do proper investigations. She takes pride in what she does, and wants to do it well. What kind of message does it send to her, to any of us, when they suspend a deputy for doing their job? She didn't make a mess on purpose, or with disregard for the victim's property. She was trying to catch a bad guy. For that, she get's a day on the porch. I think that's just a crying shame! And our administration should be ashamed of itself for even considering such a thing!

Do they really believe a suspension will encourage her to dust the next crime scene she goes to? For that matter, do they think this sends a supportive message to the rest of us? They made a choice. They chose to pay $1,300.00 to have that victim's house cleaned. I'm sure the job could have been done just as well, for a lot less. As I see it, since they chose to go that route, then they should suck it up. They shouldn't punish the deputy for something that wasn't intentional. In good faith, she was doing her job. I want this to be known among all of us, because it's just not right. If they are going to start suspending deputies for dusting for prints, what's next? Who's next? Are they going to suspend CST's for the same thing? I've seen them do serious damage in the name of crime scene investigation. How much more risk do we have to put up with in this job before people finally decide it's not worth it, and stop applying.

I see deputies who do the bare minimum. They don't exert themselves, they don't get their hands dirty, they don't break a sweat. And nothing ever seems to happen to them. Then you have a deputy that actually works, tries to earn her pay, tries to solve a crime, and she gets slapped down for the effort. If I were her, I'd turn my latent print kit back in to Supply, because I wouldn't be using it anymore. Why bother? The supervisor who wrote up the complaint, the supervisor who recommended 24 hours suspension (yeah, that was the original push), and the supervisor who thought ANY suspension was reasonable should all be ashamed of themselves. They are so far out of touch from the reality of what we do, that they'd never be able to understand how damaging this action is going to be in the long run. When you punish people for the byproducts of their work, you encourage them to do less and less work.

When you slap somebody with a suspension for doing their job, then close it by saying things like, "I hope you take this in the spirit in which it's given, and learn from this experience", you only insult their intelligence. When you allow a sergeant who lied about an affair with a subordinant to save face by retiring, and you punish a deputy for doing her job, you send some seriously flawed messages to your people. The message I would like to send to this fine deputy is this:

KEEP DUSTING!! Don't let them take your quality from you. You're good at what you do, and they can't change that. If my house is ever broken into, you can dust all you like. I can rent a great steam cleaner at Publix for under $50 bucks, so knock yourself out!

That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. When you dust for prints, the powder is going to get every where and on every thing. If you are doing it in a house, you might as well call a supervisor as soon as you get the kit out of the car, because you know it's going to get on the floor/carpet.

I thought Grady Judd was a sheriff who looked out for his deputies. I guess I was wrong.

do your job get spanked dont do your job dont get in trouble hmmmmmmmmmmm sounds like the sheriff's office will be saving alot of money on finger print powder and tape

I read with interest the statements about the fingerprint dust and the suspension.
Has anyone who is upset actually seen the home in question? This is not the first home that the Sheriff's Office had to pay to clean, and it will not be the last. Yes, fingerprint dust gets everywhere when you dust a house, and under normal circumstances the Sheriff's Officer refers the people to their insurance company. But every now and then, we do make a mess that goes beyond what is acceptable and then the Sheriff has to foot the bill. As it appears in this case. I do not believe the Sheriff's Office would have paid for this house to be cleaned it the powers upstairs did not believe we had some responsibility.

What does obtaining a great prints in the past have to do with this particular case. I can do a job well for years and one day screw up a situation and be written up or suspended. Is the fact that I was a great deputy yesterday, change the fact that I screwed up today? Does it mean that I should not continue to try to do my job to the best of my ability? NO, it doesn't, it means I made a mistake and have learned from it and I move on.

I am not going to change my work ethic's becauce of someone else's issues. If this deputy made a mess, he needs to move on. If the complainer feels like everyone should stop doing their job because of someone else's problems, then maybe he take a good look at his work ethic.

Spoken like a true ladder climber! You're right about one thing though, the Sheriff's Office has paid to have houses cleaned in the past, and will no doubt do it in the future. It's all part of doing crime scene work, and satisfying our customers. But when was the last time anyone here ever heard of one of us getting suspended over it? When was the last time a CSI tech got suspended for doing it? The whole situation is unbelieveably idiotic! If you can't see it, then you lack as much common sense as this decision does.

Get real. This is not about punishment for doing your job. This is about lax, careless, or disrespectful work, done to excess. Anybody ... ANYBODY can dust carefully, and anybody can get lax or careless and use an excessive amount of dust. And yes, accidents occur. We all have done it. Like when you get tired of hearing the victim complain and forget that we are there to help and to serve them rather than get through the day that we throw around too much dust to give the appearance of having done our job. Or simply screw it up. And make the victim a victim all over again, becoming a victim ourselves of our own behaviors.

Yes, there are times when it is almost impossible to get through it totally clean. And there are victims who make us climb the walls. And long days and stress and times when it seems just too much. But this is about character. And excess, and the ability to admit when we "over did it", or were careless. No excuses. No blame shifting. No whining in the wind. Face the music. Do better next time. Don't track it through the house.

Do I know what I am talking about? Ask me about the burglary I worked at the judge's house facing Lake Cannon in Inwood back in the early 80's. When the entire bottle of powder fell off the table onto the antique family hierloom handmade oval carpet, and how I tried to clean it up with their vacuum cleaner. That was only months after the CST did the powder thing onto a white shag carpet on a lakefront home in Eagle Lake .... and Louie Mims explained to me personally how "thats not how we do things here". Excrement happens, learn to stay upwind.

How much suspension time did ole Louis give you? That's the point. There's a big difference between having the boss chew you out, and getting suspended. She's not stupid. She is one of those people who can learn without a slap down. A suspension for a first offense is unreasonable, and excessive. It sends a bad message to all of us, whether you agree or not.

Well, if you served under Louis Mims, then you obviously aren't one of us. You're an administrator. That invalidates your opinion on this matter. There's no way you can be expected to view this from our position, not when you are willing to suspend a deputy for something you were only "talked to" about when you did it. That just shows how punishment oriented this administration has become. You haven't figured out that reward and punishment is an effective way of dealing with children, not adults. You dish out suspensions like candy, and expect us to "take it in the spirit it's intended". Give me a break!

I have to agree. So maybe she made a mess trying to find prints. So we picked up the bill for cleaning it up. Maybe she deserved a repremand. Maybe she didn't. But a suspension tells me my people don't have my back. I don't care how much of a mess she made, it's all fixed with a little cleaning solution, and a warning to be more careful. A suspension isn't a warning. It's demoralizing, and demotivating. I also agree that suspensions are too easily handed out. The brass doesn't seem to relate to the things we deal with anymore. Too many years off the road, and out of touch, I guess. They think PROCAP keeps them on top of things. It doesn't tell them anything about working the streets. It's nothing like it was for them.

Fish are biting pretty well, and hunting season is kicking off. I'll take suspension for her. :devil: :cop:

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