09-20-2008, 12:56 PM
Lakeland Chief Rejects Police Couple's Complaints
By Shoshana Walter
THE LEDGER
Published: Friday, September 19, 2008 at 12:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 12:20 a.m.
LAKELAND | Lakeland Police Chief Roger Boatner on Friday denied four grievances filed Sept. 4 by Lakeland police Lt. Al Wilson and his wife, former Sgt. Felicia Wilson.
In their grievances, the couple disputed the findings of the investigations and their punishments. In his responses, Boatner denied all of the couple's grievances and defended the findings, listed below:
The couple inappropriately used LPD computers to gain an advantage in receiving outside overtime shifts. Al and Felicia Wilson filed separate grievances disputing this finding.
Felicia Wilson broke department policy in a car chase.
Al Wilson violated a direct order in taking time off.
In the first two grievances, both denied using an LPD computer system inappropriately and described Felicia Wilson's use of her husband's password to schedule overtime shifts as a means of "convenience" and a common practice for husbands and wives working at the department.
In one of his responses, Boatner wrote that Al Wilson "engaged in improper and wrongful conduct, at a minimum," by asking his wife to access the computer system with his password and use his seniority to schedule extra duty details for the couple's financial benefit. Boatner claims that Felicia Wilson attempted to schedule such shifts more than 50 times.
In another response, Boatner described Felicia Wilson as a police veteran with training in police pursuit tactics and experience supervising a police pursuit. She failed to supervise a pursuit in which officers were not following procedure, he wrote, and at the time of the pursuit, she was in the wrong district.
In response to the last grievance, Boatner wrote that Al Wilson's claim that he took time off during work to make up for attendance at a ceremony after business hours was not valid because Wilson was sent an e-mail beforehand that stated such attendance must be done on his own time.
[ Shoshana Walter can be reached at shoshana.walter@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. ]
I repeat Roger...it's too little, and too late.
By Shoshana Walter
THE LEDGER
Published: Friday, September 19, 2008 at 12:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 12:20 a.m.
LAKELAND | Lakeland Police Chief Roger Boatner on Friday denied four grievances filed Sept. 4 by Lakeland police Lt. Al Wilson and his wife, former Sgt. Felicia Wilson.
In their grievances, the couple disputed the findings of the investigations and their punishments. In his responses, Boatner denied all of the couple's grievances and defended the findings, listed below:
The couple inappropriately used LPD computers to gain an advantage in receiving outside overtime shifts. Al and Felicia Wilson filed separate grievances disputing this finding.
Felicia Wilson broke department policy in a car chase.
Al Wilson violated a direct order in taking time off.
In the first two grievances, both denied using an LPD computer system inappropriately and described Felicia Wilson's use of her husband's password to schedule overtime shifts as a means of "convenience" and a common practice for husbands and wives working at the department.
In one of his responses, Boatner wrote that Al Wilson "engaged in improper and wrongful conduct, at a minimum," by asking his wife to access the computer system with his password and use his seniority to schedule extra duty details for the couple's financial benefit. Boatner claims that Felicia Wilson attempted to schedule such shifts more than 50 times.
In another response, Boatner described Felicia Wilson as a police veteran with training in police pursuit tactics and experience supervising a police pursuit. She failed to supervise a pursuit in which officers were not following procedure, he wrote, and at the time of the pursuit, she was in the wrong district.
In response to the last grievance, Boatner wrote that Al Wilson's claim that he took time off during work to make up for attendance at a ceremony after business hours was not valid because Wilson was sent an e-mail beforehand that stated such attendance must be done on his own time.
[ Shoshana Walter can be reached at shoshana.walter@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. ]
I repeat Roger...it's too little, and too late.