Original Article DUIs could end cops careers By Kim Smith, Tribune February 28, 2005 Whenever Rod Covey hears about a police officer being arrested for drunken driving, he remembers the officer caught stealing a $3 tube of toothpaste. She was convicted of shoplifting, fired from her job and lost her police officer certification. Officers convicted of DUI rarely need worry about losing their certification, however. Unless they resign or are fired, the state board that grants and revokes police certification never even learns their names. Covey, a member of the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board and an assistant director with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, wants that to change. Police agencies should be required to tell the board whenever one of their officers is convicted of DUI even if the officer isnt fired, Covey said. Once notified of such cases, the board could decide to investigate and eventually suspend or revoke an officers certification. Covey pointed to a case before the board last week that if he has his way would have led to decertification. Covey was one of four board members who voted to investigate a former Tempe officer who crashed into two cars while driving with a 0.21 blood-alcohol level, well over the 0.08 legal limit. But five other members voted not to take action against the officer, who was fired by Tempe police officials and whose certification expires in June. "If someone is convicted of DUI and the (standards board) does absolutely nothing, to me that sends mixed messages to the public. It sends mixed messages to the officers as far as what is important," Covey said. "You cant tell me being 0.21 does not lessen public confidence in that officer." Board members will discuss Coveys suggestion March 16. The topic is a sensitive one and will require much discussion in the law enforcement community, said Tom Hammarstrom, the boards executive director. Nobody disagrees its bad for a police officer to be arrested for DUI, but "the question is about the boards relationship with the agencies within the law enforcement community," Hammarstrom said. "Theres a reluctance, and I think an appropriate reluctance, for the board to reach over the top of the chief of police or the sheriff whos made a decision about discipline and that decision was not to terminate, but to take some other disciplinary action." Many times, agencies base their disciplinary action on the size of their communities, Hammarstrom said. "There isnt equity in discipline throughout the state and we understand that," he said. "If an officer in a very small community . . . is arrested for DUI it has more of a significant impact on the community trust in law enforcement than, if say, a Phoenix law enforcement officer were to be apprehended." Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert and Chandler police officers can receive anything from a reprimand to termination, but it depends upon the circumstances of the case, representatives of those departments said. In Mesa, officers are fired if found guilty of a DUI while on duty. If the DUI is committed off-duty and their license is suspended for more than 30 days, they are also fired. If its suspended for fewer than 30 days, they are suspended without pay, or can take supervisor-approved vacation, until their license is reinstated. Maricopa County sheriffs deputies with clean disciplinary records face a one-day suspension for a first-time DUI and a 30-day suspension or dismissal for an extreme DUI, said Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who opposes the proposal. At last weeks board meeting, board member and Navajo County Sheriff Gary Butler agreed the board needs to consider taking action in DUI cases. Deputies who are convicted of DUI in his department and who do not resign are fired. "Its a question of credibility," he said. Between Jan. 1, 2002, and Dec. 31, 2004, 21 officers convicted of DUI have appeared before the board, said Bob Forry, the boards compliance manager. In every instance, the officers had been fired by their respective agencies. In 11 cases, the officers were involved in crashes while under the influence. In eight cases, the board took no action. They revoked five officers certification and suspended two others. They placed notes in six other officers files. Years ago, Covey said he remembers writing DUI tickets that were later reduced to speeding tickets because drinking and driving was socially acceptable. "Well, its not socially acceptable anymore. It kills people," Covey said. "Its a crime we need to put on the forefront, and as police agencies we have a responsibility to treat it as seriously as were asking the courts to treat it." Contact Kim Smith by email, or phone (480) 898-6334