Original Article Police chief facing ethics inquiry Drug case request may be violation of Tempe code Jahna Berry and Sarah Muench The Arizona Republic Mar. 22, 2006 12:00 AM Tempe Police Chief Ralph Tranter may have violated the city's ethics policy when he recommended a light sentence when a councilwoman's son faced drug charges. The city has hired Phoenix attorney Jon Pettibone to investigate issues surrounding the police chief's letter and could issue a report as early as Thursday. Colby Carter, 31, son of Councilwoman Barb Carter, was arrested March 18, 2005, on suspicion of five felony counts involving growing and possessing marijuana. Carter faced up to three years in prison. He was sentenced March 3 to two years probation, four months work furlough and the minimum of 240 hours of community service, according to his plea agreement. He is serving his sentence. Tranter and Councilwoman Carter have stressed that Tranter volunteered to write the Oct. 4 letter, that it wasn't written on city stationery and Tranter didn't mention his police post. Tranter's actions, however, may have violated the city's ethics policy. The guidelines urge employees to seek out supervisors when confronted with a possible ethical problem. "If you are confronted with a possible business ethics or conflict of interest problem, immediately request help to determine whether . . . a problem does in fact exist, and if so, what steps should be taken to correct it," the handbook states. It also urges city employees to talk to a supervisor about potential ethical issues: "Surface it. Discuss it privately with your manager. Believe it or not, they're often in the best position to help you." Tranter didn't approach City Manager Will Manley about the issue, Manley said. "He did not come to me," Manley said. He said he did not learn about the letter until employees brought it to the city's attention. Manley said that any potential ethics issues would probably be addressed in the attorney's report, but he declined to speculate about possible outcomes. Tranter's office referred calls to city spokeswoman Nikki Ripley, who said she could not speak for the police chief. One expert said that city officials face a quandary when asked to speak about a person or an issue as private citizens. "If they know someone for a number of years, they should be able to stand up and vouch for someone," said Tim Delaney, founder and president of the Center for Leadership, Ethics and Public Service in Phoenix. "They need to recognize that they can't always take their official hat off. . . . On the other hand, we can't say as a public official, you lose all of your First Amendment rights." Colby Carter was arrested after a neighbor who lives in Carter's central Tempe neighborhood called police. Police served a search warrant several months later, arresting him as he left his house. Investigators found paraphernalia, growing materials, marijuana seeds and 18 plants in the home, totaling 2.7 pounds of the drug. Authorities also seized a price sheet listing a dollar amount next to various types of marijuana and a ledger listing a dollar amount next to the names of four people. Court records show that Carter had been arrested twice before on similar incidents, once in Mesa in 1994 when police reportedly found marijuana plants growing in his room. In 1996, he was arrested in Flagstaff, convicted of attempted production of marijuana and served nearly five days in jail and probation. In a pre-sentence report to the court, 16 people, including Tranter and Barb Carter, wrote character letters on his behalf. Neither Tranter nor Barb Carter identified themselves as appointed city officials, but both recommended probation. Tranter said Monday that he has "written others like it, although not very often. I do it as a citizen who is familiar with situations like these. There was no intent to intervene in the (police) investigation." He did not return phone calls Tuesday. City officials declined to comment on whether Tranter and Colby Carter knew each other well. The report included Carter's resume, showing his degree from Northern Arizona University in environmental science and his plans to finish his plant biology and urban horticulture degrees at Arizona State University this year. Carter is a designer for Site Design Group, Inc., a Tempe-based firm that has designed more than 60 skate parks. The controversy over the letter comes at an awkward time. This week the City Council will begin budget talks, which include a Police Department proposal.