06-29-2011, 06:58 PM
By all blood alcohol counts, Fort Myers police Officer Christopher Reiman is a functional alcoholic.
Reiman blew three staggering numbers: 0.297, 0.278 and 0.256 - three times the legal driving limit of 0.08 - after driving drunk to work.
Despite his March 16 inebriation, Reiman, 39, functioned well enough not to harm anyone.
He and we were lucky.
The headline possibilities could have been:
- Drunken cop runs squad car over pedestrian
- Drunken cop accidentally shoots fellow officer
The knee-jerk reaction was to fire him yesterday.
"The easy decision is to say: 'Screw him. Fire him,'" police Chief Doug Baker says. "I don't believe that was the right decision. I still stand by it."
In May, Baker, with input from his command staff and City Manager Billy Mitchell, opted for two-week suspension, one-year probation, random breath tests and monthly reports on his alcohol treatment.
Sounds soft to me.
In the internal affairs report, Reiman took off his badge, laid down his gun and admitted his career was toast. Why wasn't it?
"There were no signs of visible impairment or lack of motor skills,'' Baker says. "There was no probable cause to arrest him.''
How about when Reiman called a supervisor and said his vehicle wouldn't start?
"We don't know that it didn't," Baker says.
Any video of him?
"Not that I'm aware of," Baker says.
Bottom line: Reiman, hired in 2003, salvaged his job because he's alcoholic.
"He sought treatment and got into a program,'' Baker says. "He was just shy of 90 days sober. He wasn't concerned about himself, just about the embarrassment he brought to the agency."
Accountability counts with Baker - even with a cop who endangers the public and fellow cops.
"I think he is a functioning alcoholic," Baker says.
He says if Reiman tried to hide his alcoholism, the outcome would be different; a federal law protects people with his condition.
A woman answering a telephone number listed to Reiman told me not to call again.
Reiman's priors are minor, yet there were whispers about drinking.
In the IA report, Officers Alesha Morel, Megan Pate and Yvette Dominique said they smelled alcohol on Reiman at work and reported him.
Dominique said Reiman smelled of alcohol at K9 Rosco's funeral in 2010.
Seven months ago, supervisors met with Reiman about his alcohol use with an offer to help. He declined.
"He told them no because he didn't realize he had an alcohol problem at that time," the IA said.
Should supervisors have been more forceful?
"I would have preferred they did, but what they did was within policy," Baker says. "What else do I have to do to this guy? How hard do I have to hit him?"
Considering the risk at which Reiman put residents and fellow officers, how about handing him his walking papers?
Sam Cook's column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Call 335-0384 or fax 334-0708.
it is about TIME Sam :roll: :snicker:
Reiman blew three staggering numbers: 0.297, 0.278 and 0.256 - three times the legal driving limit of 0.08 - after driving drunk to work.
Despite his March 16 inebriation, Reiman, 39, functioned well enough not to harm anyone.
He and we were lucky.
The headline possibilities could have been:
- Drunken cop runs squad car over pedestrian
- Drunken cop accidentally shoots fellow officer
The knee-jerk reaction was to fire him yesterday.
"The easy decision is to say: 'Screw him. Fire him,'" police Chief Doug Baker says. "I don't believe that was the right decision. I still stand by it."
In May, Baker, with input from his command staff and City Manager Billy Mitchell, opted for two-week suspension, one-year probation, random breath tests and monthly reports on his alcohol treatment.
Sounds soft to me.
In the internal affairs report, Reiman took off his badge, laid down his gun and admitted his career was toast. Why wasn't it?
"There were no signs of visible impairment or lack of motor skills,'' Baker says. "There was no probable cause to arrest him.''
How about when Reiman called a supervisor and said his vehicle wouldn't start?
"We don't know that it didn't," Baker says.
Any video of him?
"Not that I'm aware of," Baker says.
Bottom line: Reiman, hired in 2003, salvaged his job because he's alcoholic.
"He sought treatment and got into a program,'' Baker says. "He was just shy of 90 days sober. He wasn't concerned about himself, just about the embarrassment he brought to the agency."
Accountability counts with Baker - even with a cop who endangers the public and fellow cops.
"I think he is a functioning alcoholic," Baker says.
He says if Reiman tried to hide his alcoholism, the outcome would be different; a federal law protects people with his condition.
A woman answering a telephone number listed to Reiman told me not to call again.
Reiman's priors are minor, yet there were whispers about drinking.
In the IA report, Officers Alesha Morel, Megan Pate and Yvette Dominique said they smelled alcohol on Reiman at work and reported him.
Dominique said Reiman smelled of alcohol at K9 Rosco's funeral in 2010.
Seven months ago, supervisors met with Reiman about his alcohol use with an offer to help. He declined.
"He told them no because he didn't realize he had an alcohol problem at that time," the IA said.
Should supervisors have been more forceful?
"I would have preferred they did, but what they did was within policy," Baker says. "What else do I have to do to this guy? How hard do I have to hit him?"
Considering the risk at which Reiman put residents and fellow officers, how about handing him his walking papers?
Sam Cook's column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Call 335-0384 or fax 334-0708.
it is about TIME Sam :roll: :snicker: