01-15-2009, 04:13 AM
NEW PORT RICHEY - Former Zephyrhills Police Chief Russell Barnes, who resigned amid a payroll scandal in August, has applied for a job as a patrol deputy with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
Barnes, 56, applied online for the job in December.
"We don't comment on applicants," sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said.
Barnes did not return a message seeking comment. He resigned from the Zephyrhills force in August, about an hour before the city council was to decide whether to fire him. He was hired in November 2003.
An internal investigation concluded Barnes created a log documenting flex time that allowed Sgt. Robert Perrault Jr. to justify teaching criminal justice courses at Pasco-Hernando Community College while claiming to be on the city's clock. Perrault was the department's spokesman and head of internal affairs.
The city does not have a policy allowing flex time.
The investigation later concluded that Detective George MacKnight II also was paid by the city while teaching at PHCC.
Perrault resigned from the force to teach at Zephyrhills High School before the investigation was launched. MacKnight was suspended three days without pay and reassigned to patrol duty. Barnes, Perrault and MacKnight each denied wrongdoing.
As Zephyrhills' top cop, Barnes earned more than $74,000 annually.
Starting salary for sheriff's patrol deputies is $17.82 an hour, but people with experience can be hired at a higher rate, Doll said.
Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina had recommended Perrault for the Zephyrhills High teaching job, but he said Barnes did not ask if he could list Spina as a reference. Spina had recommended that the city council fire Barnes, whose career achievements parallel well-documented gaffes.
As a sergeant with the Pinellas Park Police Department in 1990, Barnes was talking on the telephone when he accidentally pulled the trigger of a 9 mm gun, sending a bullet through a desk lamp, two rooms, a trash can and into a baseboard. He had forgotten a round was still in the chamber. No one was injured.
Three months later, Barnes received a written reprimand for placing magnetic signs on agency vehicles driven by the police chief and captains. The signs encouraged people to "Honk if you have a complaint."
Barnes worked for the Pinellas Park police from 1980 to 1991. He previously worked for six years at the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Barnes left Pinellas Park for Sequim, Wash., where he was police chief from 1991 to 1996. The city of slightly more than 5,300 is on Washington's north coast. When he returned to Florida, he was not greatly revered "or greatly missed," said Craig Ritchie, Sequim's city attorney.
The payroll scandal was not the first time Barnes encountered turbulence in Zephyrhills. He faced public ridicule for playing "Asteroids" and other video games on his office computer, battled low morale in the department and came under fire for buying 34 Tasers and several police vehicles without the required city council approval.
Before taking the helm in Zephyrhills, Barnes was an investigator with the Pasco-Pinellas Public Defender's Office.
Barnes, 56, applied online for the job in December.
"We don't comment on applicants," sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said.
Barnes did not return a message seeking comment. He resigned from the Zephyrhills force in August, about an hour before the city council was to decide whether to fire him. He was hired in November 2003.
An internal investigation concluded Barnes created a log documenting flex time that allowed Sgt. Robert Perrault Jr. to justify teaching criminal justice courses at Pasco-Hernando Community College while claiming to be on the city's clock. Perrault was the department's spokesman and head of internal affairs.
The city does not have a policy allowing flex time.
The investigation later concluded that Detective George MacKnight II also was paid by the city while teaching at PHCC.
Perrault resigned from the force to teach at Zephyrhills High School before the investigation was launched. MacKnight was suspended three days without pay and reassigned to patrol duty. Barnes, Perrault and MacKnight each denied wrongdoing.
As Zephyrhills' top cop, Barnes earned more than $74,000 annually.
Starting salary for sheriff's patrol deputies is $17.82 an hour, but people with experience can be hired at a higher rate, Doll said.
Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina had recommended Perrault for the Zephyrhills High teaching job, but he said Barnes did not ask if he could list Spina as a reference. Spina had recommended that the city council fire Barnes, whose career achievements parallel well-documented gaffes.
As a sergeant with the Pinellas Park Police Department in 1990, Barnes was talking on the telephone when he accidentally pulled the trigger of a 9 mm gun, sending a bullet through a desk lamp, two rooms, a trash can and into a baseboard. He had forgotten a round was still in the chamber. No one was injured.
Three months later, Barnes received a written reprimand for placing magnetic signs on agency vehicles driven by the police chief and captains. The signs encouraged people to "Honk if you have a complaint."
Barnes worked for the Pinellas Park police from 1980 to 1991. He previously worked for six years at the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Barnes left Pinellas Park for Sequim, Wash., where he was police chief from 1991 to 1996. The city of slightly more than 5,300 is on Washington's north coast. When he returned to Florida, he was not greatly revered "or greatly missed," said Craig Ritchie, Sequim's city attorney.
The payroll scandal was not the first time Barnes encountered turbulence in Zephyrhills. He faced public ridicule for playing "Asteroids" and other video games on his office computer, battled low morale in the department and came under fire for buying 34 Tasers and several police vehicles without the required city council approval.
Before taking the helm in Zephyrhills, Barnes was an investigator with the Pasco-Pinellas Public Defender's Office.